


A fictional accident

by SoraKeki



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Banter, Blaise/Ron not really, Embarrassment, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, Fanboy, Fanfiction, Fangirls, Friendship, Funny, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, OOC Ron Weasley, Owl accident, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Story writing, Teasing, ooc Hermione Granger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:41:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26531545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraKeki/pseuds/SoraKeki
Summary: Who said that the Wizarding World doesn’t have crazy fangirls and -boys who love to write? When Harry gets his first taste of fan fiction, he is utterly baffled and embarrassed. And he isn’t the only one who falls victim to their fantasies.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy & Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger & Pansy Parkinson, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 14
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fanfiction based on the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters are the property of J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Warner Bros. Pictures, and other relevant parties.

Harry groaned as a beam of sunlight shone directly into his face through the window and woke him from his fitful slumber. It was his third weekend back at Hogwarts for his eight-year and he had hoped that he could have a lie-in but the damn sunrise seemed to have other plans for him, as much as the imposing owl that sat perched on the windowsill and knocked her beak urgently against the glass.

Harry groaned again as he rolled out of his bed, eyes open by mere slits, and tumbled over on unsteady feet to let the blasted bird and cool morning air into the room. He heard Ron stir in the background but the ginger merely rolled over and began to snore. Squinting his eyes against the light, Harry fumbled with the bindings of the scroll which was attached to the leg of the beautiful nightcrawler. When he finally got it, the owl hooted and went off against the last stars that still twinkled at the firmament. It was too bloody early to be awake, Harry decided and fell back to his bed, burying his head in his pillow. 

He still wasn’t used to his new dorm room in the newly founded eighth-year tower which he shared with his best mate. The outlay was different, with beds, tables, and chairs coming in a double set and the huge windows on one wall. It wasn’t the first time he had forgotten to draw his bed curtains shut, but today of all days it irritated him to such lengths that he couldn’t fall back asleep.

Sighing, he rolled over to his back and sat up, scowling at the parchment while he unrolled it. 

Harry scanned over it and his jaw dropped almost to the ground. What the hell was that? A shiver ran down his back as he began to read from the top again.

**_~ One-shot ~_ **

_Draco grunted as Harry pressed him with his body against the wall. "Potter, what do you think you’re doing?” the Slytherin prince scowled and tried to free his arms from the death grip the Gryffindor had on his arms. "Marking my territory, Draco,” Harry smirked at him and descended his lips to Draco’s neck._

_The blonde stood frozen. Flabbergasted out of his mind until his own body betrayed him and a moan found its way out of his mouth, bringing him back to the present. "Potter, unhand me this instant,” Draco hissed, but his dying resistance spoke another language. One that Harry had just recently learned._

_"Hm, I don’t think so,” he murmured against the red dot which was now forming on the pale skin beneath his lips. "I know you like being manhandled. You like it a little rough, don’t you Draco?”_

_Harry felt the blonde shiver at his words and he shifted his leg between Draco’s to rub lightly over the Slytherin’s growing erection._

**_..._ **

Harry squeaked unmanly and threw the parchment against the wall where it rolled lazily into a now rumbled roll again.

"Merlin’s sagging balls!” he wheezed out and rubbed a hand down over his horror-stricken face. "Bloody ever flying fuck!” he cursed and eyed the parchment suspiciously. He contemplated, should he pinch himself and hope he was in a nightmare or instantly go and claw his eyes out?

Deciding on pinching and hoping for the best, he did just that with his eyes squeezed shut. Then he blinked. Nope, no dream then. The bloody scroll still was there and so were the letters on it. Letters which had burned an image into his mind, he wasn’t sure he could ever forget. 

Ron grunted suddenly, making Harry almost jump out of his skin. In a hurry he grabbed his wand and shot a hastily cast ‘ _Incendio’_ against the parchment, burning it to ash in mere seconds.

Harry glanced at his slowly waking friend, feeling the red hot burn of embarrassment creeping over his cheeks. He hoped with all his heart that this was a one time joke to never be repeated. He couldn’t even imagine how Ron would react if he were the one to read something like that.

Banishing everything that had happened in the past half an hour from his mind, Harry finally got out of his bed, snatched a towel and fresh clothes from his trunk, and walked out of the room. He needed a shower, a cold one and he wasn’t keen to ponder why he needed it cold. Ice cold.

🦉

Draco walked into the Great Hall and let his eyes roam over the students currently present which weren’t many at this early hour. He let out his breath in relief when no one instantly shot a hex at him and moved fast to his chair at the outside of the eight years table, which was situated parallel to the teachers one.

He warily glanced one more time around and then began to fill his plate. He was an early riser and it paid him greatly, he had found since coming back to Hogwarts for his final year. Like this, he could mostly go unnoticed and enjoy a hex-free breakfast before the coursing began anew.

It had been clear to him what would be coming his way when the Wizengamot announced his parole after Potter had spoken his testimony in favor of Draco and his mother. He had to finish his education, wasn’t allowed to leave the country for three years and had to volunteer for a Ministry-approved cause after he finished school. His parents had to pay war reparations, with his father going to Askaban and his mother being under house arrest, Draco thought that they had been lucky with the outcome of their trials. Having lost all respect for his father, Draco was glad the man couldn’t breathe down his neck at every turn. His mother was kind of fired up to remodel Malfoy Manor and ride it off all Dark Magic that had infused into it when the Dark Lord was their unwelcome guest. 

He was just about to take a sip from his tea when a brown barn owl swept down and threw a scroll into his lap. Draco flinched and looked anxiously down. He had got enough hate mail in the last weeks since he was back at school, some coming with curses when being touched.

He wearily took the scroll, unrolled it, and scanned the bottom of the parchment. It had no sender name but the script was neat and completely unfamiliar to him. Slowly he began to read.

**~ OS Story ~**

_His green eyes spit fire into the darkness that surrounded him, as he braced himself against the ropes that held him. The spotlight which was directed to his bound figure was hurting his eyes but he wouldn’t give up. His white shirt was ripped open, the buttons were strewn across the floor._

_"I knew you would look marvelous like this. The Savior of the Wizarding World, bound by his own desire. How does it feel, Potter? The rough robes against your skin and knowing you’re at my mercy to do whatever I like to you? Are you turned on?"_

_The voice came from behind him and Harry knew in an instant who had captured him. He would recognize this significant drawl everywhere in the world. A shiver ripped through his body as a nimble, pale finger caressed down his left side beneath his shirt._

_"Malfoy. What is the meaning of this? Unbind me," Harry growled when he threw himself against his bonds again._

_Draco chuckled amused and pinched the Gryffindor‘s nipple. It was a punishment and a promise at the same time._

_"Not so fast Potter. I‘m not done with you yet."_

_Slowly, Draco walked around the raven-haired hero, his fingers never leaving the hot, delectable skin of his prisoner._

_"I have a certain torture for you in mind. One that‘ll have you scream my name in ecstasy when I’m done with you," the Slytherin said while his hands slipped down to the waistband of Gryffindor‘s Muggle jeans._

_"Get your hands off me," Harry seethed but needed to bite back a whimper as Draco’s fingers carded through his happy trail._

_"That didn’t sound like denial, Potter. Be honest! You like it," Draco whispered while he leaned in and ghosted his lips against Harry’s ear shell. Without further ado, he ripped the jeans buttons open and dunked his lean but strong hand into the opening, pressing harshly against the raven‘s prick._

_"At least your body is honest," the blond chuckled in delight and began to rub his hand up and down the hot, rigid flesh of the Golden Boy in sensual motions._

_Harry stifled a groan by biting harshly down on his lower lip. Losing the battle with his eyelids to stay open, his eyes closed shut, the sensation of the Slytherin’s ministrations on his boxer clad rod too much for him to handle. He shook his head in denial and gasped when plump lips descended on his own, pulling his lower lip into his capture‘s mouth. He felt a soothing tongue sensually drag over the abused skin and let out a startled breath as the action shot electric shocks right down to his member, making it stiffen even more._

**_..._ **

Draco’s hands were shaking madly as he squeezed his horrified eyes shut and grumbled the paper into a small ball. Who the bloody hell came up with such outlandish and abhorrent thoughts and even saw the need to write them down? Further, who saw the need to send it to him? This was the sickest joke anyone had ever played on him and he wished to burn the sender alive with the parchment stuffed into their mouths.

Squirming in his seat, he suddenly froze and noticed with horror creeping up his chest, that he wasn’t unaffected by what he had just read. The blush that had found its way onto his cheeks washed out in an instant and his already pale skin lost all of its remaining color as he glanced down between his legs. No! This couldn’t happen to him! He wasn’t turned on! He couldn’t! This was … 

"Malfoy are you alright?" 

Draco’s head snapped around, almost giving him whiplash, as he starred horror-stricken into his nemesis' brilliant green eyes. He hadn’t noticed that the Great Hall had slowly filled with students, too entranced by the story which was balled up in his trembling fist. His mouth gaped open but only a whimper found its way out, as he tried to find scanting words for his past enemy. 

Potter looked worried back, stretching a hand out to his and the sodding parchment. All of a sudden Draco squeaked and shot out of his seat, breakfast forgotten and rushed out of the hall on a limp. Embarrassment burned his whole body up and let him glow like a fucking inferno. He needed to get as far away from Potter as possible. His heart hammered in his chest as if it tried to find a way out of it and his stomach felt as ill as if an angry hornets’ nest was dropped in there.

Breathing heavily, he slammed the loo’s door shut and sank against it. His head thumped against the wood as he stared up to the ceiling and tried to get his turmoiled thoughts in check. This was the most horrendous torture he had ever suffered. And he cursed his treacherous body, which eagerly responded to what he had read.

He looked down to the grumbled parchment and with a sudden burst of anger smashed it into the toilet and flushed it down, angrily ripping at the metal chain. His palm hurt and his breath came in short gasps as he slowly got his demeanor together again.

He would think about it, would talk about it, and would completely vanish it from his brain. He sincerely hoped that the writer would have mercy on him and not send him something again.

🦉

Harry watched Malfoy limp out of the Great Hall in a rush and carded his fingers through his unruly hair. What had happened that Malfoy had his knickers in a twist? He knew that the Slytherin was victim to hexes and curses, some going so far to infuse parchment with potions that caused nasty burns over the skin when touched. He had witnessed this on the third day back and was livid with the senders who couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that the war was over and done with. He even had had a fit right here last week, when Malfoy collapsed during dinner, hexed by a sixth-year student while eating. 

Headmistress McGonagall had warned the students after that, that she wouldn’t tolerate any of this nonsense and would take tough actions should something like that happen again. But Malfoy’s exit told him that her warning had gone unheard to some people. Harry contemplated if he should have a talk with her and alerted her to the incident but wasn’t too sure that it had been one. For the most part, the Slytherin hadn’t seemed harmed, only startled and kind of embarrassed. Okay, a freaking lot of embarrassment given the almost glowing red color that had graced his skin up to his ears.

Harry bit his lower lip as a thought crept into his brain. Malfoy’s reaction to Harry’s simple question and the sudden mad dash out of the Great Hall didn’t add up to a hex or a potion drenched parchment. The blond had first taken action as Harry tried to get the mail out of his fist and the little whimper that had escaped out of ghostly pale lips didn’t do it either. ‘It couldn’t be,’ he thought as he absentmindedly poured orange juice over his cornflakes. Malfoy couldn’t have also gotten the same story Harry had been gifted this morning, couldn’t he?

 _Gifted?_ A voice supplied with a smirking touch in his brain, letting Harry violently shake his head. 

_‘Good God!’_ he thought and put the spoon in his mouth, cringing at the horrible taste.

"Harry! What are you doing?” Hermione asked aghast as she sat down in front of him and placed a tome beside her plate, eyeing his breakfast warily.

"Erm, … up to new adventures?” he supplied forced cheerfully and took another spoonful, chewing pensively. His face involuntarily cringed again.

Hermione snorted, "Has your life become so boring that you see the need to kill your tastebuds?” She chuckled at his antics and cleaned his bowl out with a swish of her wand. "Here, now you can do it right”

"Thanks, Hermione.” Harry grinned at his friend and this time poured milk over his flakes. "You seemed absentminded. Did something happen before I was here?” Hermione asked and put a teabag in her cup with hot water.

Harry choked on his cornflakes and groused out between coughing to get his windpipe cleaned, "No, … no-thin..”

Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "You’re not convincing. Did something happen with Malfoy?" she asked while opening the tome, pretending to read.

"Malfoy?" Harry squeaked, remembering the sodding parchment of this morning and the weird behavior of the Slytherin. "Why would you ask about him?"

"Oh, just so. I saw him running out of the hall as if a Nundu was on his heels and vanishing into the boy's loo. He looked distressed." She paused and shot him a measuring look. "He didn’t get hexed again, didn’t he?"

Harry shook his head, "No, he wasn’t.” He contemplated telling her about the parchment clutched in Malfoy’s hand, but decided against it. It reminded him of his version, not suitable for minors, and he didn't want to start with that.

"Who wasn’t what?" Ron asked as he sat down beside Hermione and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I asked Harry if Malfoy was hexed this morning since he looked distressed earlier."

"Ah, leave the Ferrett be. It’s none of our concern. The git had it coming," Ron mumbled between bites of his sausage. Harry glared at him, "You of all people should know how I think about that. I didn’t testify for him only to look the other way when he’s abused."

"Woah, calm down mate. It isn’t as if he‘ll keel over any moment," Ron groaned exasperatedly.

"RONALD!" Hermione screeched and swatted him over his head.

"That’s it. I‘m done," Harry growled, throwing his spoon noisily on the table, and got up from his seat. "See you later Hermione," he said pointedly to the bushy-haired girl, completely ignoring Ron’s accusing stare.

Fuming, he made it around the table, when he heard Ron mutter under his breath, "... holding hands with that slimy git now …”

Harry nearly exploded at that but Hermione was faster. She took the tome she brought earlier and smacked it straight into Ron’s face. "You’re the slimy git. I'm so disappointed in you. Don’t even imagine coming to Harry or me without an apology," she hissed at her boyfriend, trembling from head to toe with anger.

"Come, Harry, we've got better things to do." With that, she grabbed Harry‘s arm and guided him out of the Great Hall.

🦉


	2. Chapter 2

Draco rose on Monday morning, feeling ravished and exhausted. He had holed himself up in his dorm the whole weekend, afraid to run into Potter again. He hadn’t eaten and didn’t sleep a wink because every time he closed his eyes, unwanted images of a bound Potter swarmed his mind.

He cursed under his breath as he saw his face in the mirror. He looked like an Inferi. Skin grey, bloodshot eyes, and deep blue shadows beneath them. "Brilliant!" he groused and scrubbed his teeth until he tasted blood. 

"Is looking like a vampire the new style?" a deep voice asked from the bathroom door and Draco shot his former friend an angry look. "What is it to you, Blaise? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore." Draco crossed his arms over his Pyjama clad chest and leaned with his hips against the sink.

"Duh, I just noticed that you look horrible and it isn‘t something you normally show." Blaise ducked his head a little and cast his brown eyes to the floor. He seemed to be searching for words. When he finally found them he looked determinedly at Draco. "You see … I miss my old friend. We said some horrible things to each other and you cast me away in sixth year and I was fucking angry with you, but …" He scuffed his feet on the ground. "No more. I want to be friends again, Draco. I know why you did it. I understand now that you wanted to protect me. It took me a long time to overcome what seemed like mistrust. But now I get it. I really do, ... and I want to try being friends again, … if you want too." 

Draco watched the stuttering dark-skinned boy with contemplating eyes. He wasn’t used to Blaise being anything other than straight forward and thus knew that his former friend was serious about his offer. He didn’t need to think much about this. Raising his chin, he stood up straight and walked over, placing a hand on the other boy’s shoulder. "I’m sorry, Blaise. I would like to be your friend again." 

Draco needed a friend, now more than ever, and was happy inside that the other had offered. 

Blaise smirked and raised both of his eyebrows, "Draco Malfoy offering an apology? And tomorrow it will rain Blast-Ended Skrewts." 

Draco punched his regained friend in the shoulder. "Don't get used to it," he laughed and suddenly felt better than he had for a long time.

"So, what happened to you to look like death warmed over?"

Draco groaned, "I can’t even begin to describe how exhausted this whole ordeal is." He waved his hand dramatically to show that he meant everything around him. "I think you know that I get hate mail almost every day. Even McGonagall‘s warning didn’t do much about it. And if that wasn’t enough…" Draco paused and pressed his lips together. He almost gave away what he got at breakfast on Saturday, but luckily he was able to resist it at the last moment.

Blaise gave him a curious gaze but Draco shook his head. "It’s nothing. Well, I need to deal with it. So … are you hungry?" he changed the topic and prayed that his ears didn’t glow. Salazar, it was embarrassing that he couldn’t get the story out of his mind. He smiled slightly at his friend when he nodded and started to change his clothes.

Blaise also changed, a smile playing on his lips. "I noticed that Potter was very angry for your sake when that blasted parchment came the first week. You were already in the infirmary when he threw a fit in the Great Hall. Are you on good terms with him now?"

Draco stilled in rolling his socks up and snapped his head around. "He did?"

"Yeah. Told everyone that you were excused and they should shove their prejudice up their arses. They don’t know what you’ve gone through. He certainly was passionate about it." Blaise smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "Maybe you‘ve now a chance to befriend him like you always wanted."

Draco spluttered at that, "I never wanted-"

"Oh, please, Draco! Don’t give me that. We both know how you ranted about him denying your friendship request. Don’t tell me otherwise now." Blaise interrupted.

A pink touch crept up on Draco’s cheeks. "Yes, fine. I wanted him to be my friend but we aren’t and will never be. Not after everything." his voice had grown almost to a whisper on the last words and he jerkily bound his shoelaces, averting to look anywhere else.

"Hm, if you say so. But I think you could try it," Blaise said from the door, waiting for the blond.

Draco sighed and then smiled at his friend, "Let’s forget about that subject. Let us go, I‘m starving."

🦉

Over the next few weeks, things slowly calmed down. The students were swamped with lessons and homework. Harry still wasn’t talking to Ron and Hermione had somehow befriended Pansy Parkinson after they got thrown together for a Charmes project. The girls currently sat outside on the courtyard and talked about the final touches of their newly invented Charm. Harry looked down at his hands. He had played guinea pig for the girls and his nails now showed an electric deep blue with little stars that sparkled in and out of existence.

"This is mesmerizing," he mumbled, turning his hands back and forth. 

Pansy chuckled, "That color compliments you greatly." 

Harry smiled at her. He was glad that he had forgiven her for trying to rat him out to Voldemort. The circumstances at the time were not the best and he had found it in him that he could understand her need to protect herself. He wanted to leave the past where it belonged and live in the present. And making friends with former enemies was certainly interesting.

He looked up to the sky and watched the clouds pass by. He enjoyed the peace and quiet that had come after the war. Until something dropped on his forehead. Instinctively, his seeker reflexes kicked in and he snatched the parchment out of the air before it could tumble down to the ground. 

His eyes sought out the owl which flew hooting towards the owl tower. She looked vaguely familiar. He shrugged and unfurled the parchment and instantly regretted it. He had completely forgotten about the sodding parchment he had received three weeks into the term, but now held another one with a different story on it.

He must have uttered a horrified sound at the first words because suddenly fate took its terrible course.

"What do you have there, Harry?" Hermione asked and snatched the parchment from his fingers before he could react. He tried to get it back, but Hermione being Hermione she was already halfway through the story no matter how fast he snatched it back.

Feeling his cheeks catch on fire, he stuffed the sodding paper into his trouser pocket while looking anywhere but the girls.

"Well, that was interesting,” Hermione commented with an amused tone to her voice. Her eyes twinkled with mischief as Harry shot her an exasperated look. 

"You seemed to know what it was on the first look. Did you get something like this before?” She smirked teasingly and winked at Pansy who looked between the friends with curious eyes. 

"Oh no, you don’t!” Harry growled, "You won’t utter one word to Pansy or anyone about this.”

"Hey! I’m right here Potter.” Pansy scowled but her eyes had an amused twinkle as she took in Harry’s ruffled look. His cheeks were burning bright pink and his green eyes shot daggers at Hermione but not only in a warning. He seemed amused himself to a certain degree, which only made Pansy more curious about what was written in the mail.

Harry nodded to the girls and turned on his heel to flee the scene but Pansy was faster. "Accio parchment” she whispered almost unheard and the grumbled paper flew into her waiting hands.

Harry hadn’t noticed and Hermione only laughed into her hand which she had clasped over her mouth.

Grinning, Pansy smoothed out the paper and began reading, holding it so that Hermione could also take a look as she scooted closer.

_**~ OS Story ~** _

_The room was perfect. Dimly lit by slow-burning, purple candles, the crystal glasses glittering richly as fine droplets of condensation ran down their stems. Draco smiled satisfied and looked at the boy which was laid out unconscious on the king-size bed. His plan had almost got to naught because his prey had decided to run after he had captured his lips for the first time. But Draco wouldn’t step back from his plan to make the Golden Boy his._

_A quick hex to the back and a levitation charm later, he had the boy right where he wanted him. His unruly raven hair a stark contrast to the crisp white sheets, his light blue shirt already undone and his wrists and ankles bound tightly but lovingly to the four posters he was a sight to be worshipped._

_Draco knew that once he rennervated him, that those brilliant green eyes would throw murderous daggers at him like so many times before. But he wouldn’t have it any other way, because it made his blood sing like nothing else._

_He walked over to the bed and slowly climbed on top of the Savior, situating himself right over the boy’s still limp groin. Swishing his wand, Draco smiled as green eyes blinked open and locked with his silver-grey ones._

_"Welcome back.” Draco rasped and leaned down before Harry could even think to utter protest. He captured his lips once again in a hard, dominating kiss. His hands gently but firmly caressed the chest of the boy below him. Drawing circles before scratching the nails of his thumbs over the pink nipples._

_Harry gasped at the sudden sting and Draco didn’t hesitate. Without further ado he swept his tongue into the hot cavern of his prisoner, plundering his mouth, capturing every moan the boy made._

_Draco drew back, needing air, and then smirked down at the disoriented boy. He sensually let his hips roll down and chuckled when Harry’s beautiful green eyes instantly refocused on him._

_"Malfoy…"_

_Harry’s voice was a mix between anger and arousal and Draco rolled his hips again, urging him to choose the latter._

_Draco‘s breath already came in harsh gasps as he leaned in again and began to litter Harry’s skin with bites and kisses. His jawline, his neck, his pectorals. Harry tasted delectable under his tongue and he couldn’t get enough. He slithered lower and lower until his mouth hit the first frizzy hair that showed him the way to his destination._

_Above him, Harry had somehow got his wits together. He fought against his bonds, shouted, and cursed like a pipe sparrow, which was interrupted with more and more moans and groans._

_Draco smirked against Harry’s abdomen and locked their eyes together as he slowly opened Harry’s jeans while his tongue drew a wet line through his treasure trail._

_"Malfoy don‘t! Stop this!" Harry growled and instantly knew that he had said his words in the wrong order when the Slytherin’s smirk only widened._

_"As you wish." Draco cooed and yanked Harry’s jeans and boxers in one motion down._

_Harry cursed and pressed his face against his stretched right biceps. He couldn’t deny his arousal anymore for it had sprung directly into Malfoy’s face when the blond had wisped his clothes away. His prick jutted proudly up from his dark curly pubic hair, a translucent pearl of pre-come shivering at the top._

_Draco sensually licked his lips, graced Harry’s body with a heated look, and felt a hot desire churn in his pelvis at the impossible delicious sight in front of him._

_His hand trembled slightly as he closed his fist around the velvet-soft flesh, dragging it up and down in slow rhythmic motions. The bead of come flowed over and began to trickle down over his nimble fingers and Draco couldn’t hold himself back any longer. His tongue swept out, licking the salty liquid away and around the swollen dark red glans of his prisoner._

_Harry moaned loudly at the first contact of Malfoy’s tongue with his dick, instantly muffling it by biting down hard on his biceps. But he couldn’t control his body any longer as the Slytherin’s hot, wet mouth descended on him. It felt otherworldly and Harry’s pressed up, syncing with the rhythm of Malfoy’s mouth._

_Nonsensical words left his mouth, spurring the blond on to go faster against his better judgment._

_Draco obliged. He holed his cheeks out and sucked Harry prick as if his life depended on it. He wanted to give his Gryffindor the ultimate blowjob and was determined to go to any length to succeed with it. He let his tongue swirl around the head, over the prominent vein on the underside before opening his throat and swallowing Harry down while simultaneously caressing his up drawn testicles._

_Harry shouted a short hoarse warning as his senses overloaded and his orgasm ripped through him like a crashing wave, taking everything with it that was his being._

_Draco closed his eyes in contentment as Harry’s come coated the back of his throat in salty ribbons. He hummed in appreciation as he swallowed every single drop, becoming undone in his trousers upon the taste of the beloved man beneath him._

_He pulled away when the last shudder was gone from Harry’s body and laid down on top of the exhausted body of his man. He kissed the red-bitten lips lovingly and let Harry taste himself on Draco’s tongue, smiling to himself when the Golden Boy finally responded._

**_~ FIN ~_ **

Pansy lowered the scroll and looked at Hermione with wide, incredulous eyes. Her mouth was slightly open and her cheeks were adorned with a bright shade of red. Hermione didn't look much better. The girls stared at each other for a while before bursting into embarrassed laughter.

"That was …Oh by Salazar‘s pink knickers! So HOT!" Pansy wheezed between loud barks of laughter, while Hermione had her red face buried in her hands and was giggling like mad. 

When the girls had calmed down, Pansy folded the parchment neatly and gave it to Hermione. "Maybe, Potter wants to read it," she smirked with an amused glint in her eyes. 

Hermione chuckled, mirroring Pansy’s expression, and a certain kind of knowledge settled into her mind when she thought back to Harry’s reaction. He hadn’t seemed all too upset about it. Rather amused and curious. She smiled to herself, "I‘ll make sure he gets it."

🦉

Harry was frantically searching his pockets. His hands dove into the ones at the front of his worn-out jeans. Nothing. He patted over the back pockets. Nothing. He even glimpsed into the breast pocket of his grey button-down which he wore beneath his auburn Weasley jumper. Again, nothing. 

Cold sweat formed on his forehead. He had lost it. The sodding parchment was gone. He groaned inwardly and pulled his hair. "Gryffindor‘s left nipple. Fuck!" he cursed under his breath as he backtracked his steps through the castle, eyes pinned to the floor.

"You certainly have a weird taste, Potter." 

Malfoy’s slow drawl let Harry snap his head up. 

"Malfoy," he breathed while all color fled his face. The one guy he didn’t want to see right now was standing in front of him. In fact, he was standing so close that Harry’s nose had grazed against the soft texture of the blond‘s light blue sweater when he had looked up.

Malfoy smirked and Harry‘s heart stuttered at the sight. It came so sudden and unprepared that he stumbled startled backward and almost hit his head against the stone wall. Almost. 

A gentle, strong hand had gripped the back of his head and kept him from splitting his skull. The Slytherin's other hand was on his hip and held him upright, while Malfoy's slim body was just too close and exuded an incredible heat.

Harry gulped audibly as he felt Malfoy’s long fingers caress through his black locks and pressed against his scalp. Electric shocks ripped through his body as he looked up into startled silver eyes.

"Careful there," Malfoy mumbled, his minty breath fanning over Harry’s lips, making his head swim. His eyes swiped down to the blond‘s lips for a second before they locked gazes again.

To Harry it felt like an eternity, standing there like this and yet not long enough when Malfoy cleared his throat and stepped back from him. He instantly missed those long, lean fingers in his hair and involuntarily did a step forward as if his body was begging to be touched again.

He stilled in shock when he noticed and cleared his throat, "Erm, thanks Malfoy. I‘ll be going now." Harry blushed and had to control himself to calmly walk away.

At his back, Draco shook his head to clear up his besotted mind. He still felt Potter’s unruly soft locks clinging to his fingers like a lover that just wouldn’t let him go. Potter’s scent had been truly intoxicating. A mix of honey-scented broom polish, chocolate, and cinnamon. Potter smelled like a fucking Christmas cookie and it did things to Draco’s stomach that had absolutely nothing to do with any known illness. 

Draco dared for a moment to gaze after the Gryffindor and his eyes naturally found their way to Potter's perfect bum.

Unconsciously, he licked his lips and blushed all kinds of red when he caught himself in the action. Draco shook his head again, turned, and walked away, resisting the urge to glance one last time over his shoulder. 

🦉


	3. Chapter 3

Ron paced around the room he shared with Harry. He hadn’t talked much with his friend but now he wanted to apologize. In the past few weeks, he had observed his fellow students and noticed a few shocking things he couldn’t deny anymore.

Harry and Hermione had been right. Again. Most of Hogwarts had returned to a kind of normalcy, doing their thing and trying to cope with their losses and grief. Some with more success, others with less. And that was fine. 

What worried Ron, however, were three smaller groups with students from different houses who had come together.

The first group seemed to be harmless at first glance. There were a couple of girls and a boy who met in the library every week. Not to study, Ron had already found out that much. As much as they wrote, talked, and laughed it could not be homework. What worried him about this group were the looks they gave Harry, Zabini, Malfoy, and himself. Every time he got close to the group to find out more, they did a _‘Muffliato’_. Ron wasn't good at sneaking up and being invisible, that was always more like Harry's job. But he didn’t get good vibes from this group, so he had sat it on his list of potential dangers.

But what worried him more were the other two groups. They were like two factions fighting against each other. One group consisted mostly of Slytherins with a few Ravenclaws and Huffelpuffs mixed in between them. They roamed the castle, blaming everyone and everything for their own mistakes. They annoyed Filch, not that Ron felt a lot sorry for the man, but the statements that he was a worthless Squip were worrying. They also hexed younger students and generally bullied people they didn't like.

The other faction was the exact opposite. This group consisted mostly of Gryffindors, also Ravenclaws and Huffelpuffs had joined them, but they helped everyone who needed help with a few exceptions. Those being Zabini, Parkinson, Goyle, and Malfoy. 

When the groups met, duels would break out with minor to moderate injuries and hexes. Ron was once being caught up in the middle while trying to break them apart. And he had the ominous suspicion that both of the groups were responsible for bullying Malfoy. It had subsided by now, but when it happened it was all the more violent. Ron had met Filch once when he had to scrub unsightly red paint off the walls. The words had clearly been addressed to the blonde Slytherin, even if most of it had already been blurred. 

Ron had done a lot of thinking since the fall out with his friend and his girlfriend. He now knew what Hermione and Harry had been talking about when they said that Malfoy shouldn’t fall victim to bullying and that it got completely against what Harry believed and wanted to achieve.

So now he got it and he wanted to apologize. The last few weeks without his friends had been horrible. He missed the jokes with Harry and even more the kisses and cuddles from Hermione. And even if he loved his sister, he didn’t want to hang around her and watch her play Quidditch, when he, himself, couldn’t since 8th years weren’t allowed to be on a house team. His thick-headedness only got so far.

He had been pacing the room for the last half hour and just began to wonder where Harry was when suddenly the door flew open and his best friend fiercely strode in. Harry threw himself on his bed and pulled his pillow over his head. Ron heard mumbling and cursing but couldn’t make out what was said.

"Uhm, Harry?” Ron croaked out to get the attention of the agitated boy.

"What Ron?” came muffled from between the sheets and the pillow.

"Uhm… yeah… you see… I wanted to apologize to you about my behavior from before about… Malfoy and the bullying… Uhm, I get it now. So… sorry about that,” reeled Ron, glad that he'd finally said it. Now he just hoped his friend would forgive him.

When after a while no answer came, he carefully ventured forward and sat on the edge of Harry's bed. "Alright, mate?" he asked when Harry squirmed on the bed and groaned again.

Suddenly the pillow flew by him and he came face to face with fierce green eyes. "No, fuck! Nothing is alright." Harry spat, letting Ron recoil, and then all fight was gone from his body. He covered his face in his hands and Ron noticed that the tips of his ears began to show a deep red blush.

"Oh-kay… so what got your knickers in a twist?” Ron wasn’t certain that he should even ask but did it anyway because he got the feeling that this wasn’t about their friendship.

Harry cursed heartily and looked up. "You remember when you said that I should go and hold hands with Malfoy?”

"Uhm, yes. I’m sorry about that. I was completely out of line there and I know that you anyway would never do that. I was just so angry that it slipped out.” Ron apologized and looked at his friend with worried eyes.

"No, it’s… well, I accept your apology but…” Harry paused and now his whole face was glowing red. "In the end, it might come to that,” he whispered and wouldn’t meet Ron’s eyes.

Ron looked dumbfounded. "W-what do you mean?” he stuttered. Certainly, Harry didn’t mean holding hands with the blond Slytherin git.

"Erm… I might have a thing for… Malfoy.” Harry exhaled heavily, saying the name Ron didn’t want to hear from his friend in a hundred years in this combination.

"What?!” Ron exclaimed, his eyes going as wide as dinner plates. "B-but you’re straight! You dated my sister. You’re certainly just confused because you don’t get any...” Ron’s voice got louder and more panicked with every word he said.

"No, Ron,” Harry said, getting angry. "I don’t think that’s just a phase and I’m not confused. Sure, I dated Ginny but that doesn’t mean that I’m straight.” Harry deflated. "It’s just … what I feel for him is … so real and exciting and I … can’t describe it well, but it never felt like that with Ginny. Sorry.” Harry didn’t know why he apologized now, but he was just so … 

Okay, fine. He was confused as hell even if he had denied it before. His encounter with Malfoy had been sort of an eye-opener and at the same time, it let him recoil. Not in disgust, which was another thing he needed to think of, it was more like he didn’t know what to do, what to feel, and certainly didn’t know what to think about it. He couldn’t even fathom where all this suddenly came from. And he noticed by Ron’s horror-stricken face that he had confided in the wrong person. Maybe Hermione would’ve been a better choice.

Harry sighed, "Look I don’t know right now where this is going but I needed to get it off my chest and give you a slight warning at the same time that something might change in the future. Okay?”

Ron whimpered and tried to shake his head while nodding at the same time, which looked kind of funny. Harry began to laugh, "I know this is too much for you at the moment, but thanks for listening mate.” He clapped Ron on the shoulder and got up from his bed. "Maybe you should now go on and apologize to Hermione. Ah! And please don’t say anything about me or Malfoy yet, I need to work this out myself and will tell her then,” Harry grinned and left the room.

Ron still sat frozen on Harry’s bed. His mind was reeling. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what his best friend had just dropped on him. After a while, he got up and walked as if in a trance to the door. He needed to find Hermione. Now!

🦉

Draco cursed and called Blaise all kinds of unflattering things but to no avail. His soon to be ex-friend sat on his chest, laughing like a mad man and held his wrists in a death grip while Pansy painted whistling Draco’s nails. Draco didn’t know the song and it didn’t matter anyway. What mattered was that he didn’t want his nails painted. "You vile imbecile beings. Go away!” he shouted, which made Blaise laugh even more. " Don’t be like that, Draco. Pansy needs to test her new Charms work. What better way to rekindle an old friendship?”

"Fuck old friendships. I don’t need you!” Draco screamed and tried to buck up to get Blaise off him. "Don’t be so mean darling. It’s all done anyway,” Pansy cooed and placed a wet kiss on his cheek. "To a rekindled friendship,” Pansy grinned and Blaise finally stood up, pulling Draco with him. "Oh, that looks awesome, Pans. Do mine next. In dark green, I think.” He smirked and winked at the fuming blond as Pansy squealed in delight and hugged him.

Frothing at the mouth, Draco looked at his nails. It didn't look too bad actually. The silvery-blue was crisscrossed with fine white lines that kept forming new patterns. Pansy had done a really good job, but it was still done against his will. So he took out his wand and tried a _‘Scourgify’_ , but the nail polish was still there.

"Oh, you need to go to Hermione to vanish it. I still haven’t got the remover spell down," Pansy said without looking up from her work on Blaise's hand.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm down. "You mean to say that I need ⅓ of the Golden Trio to remove this?" he exasperatedly asked. "Yepp," Pansy answered, letting the ‘P’ pop at the end.

"Salazar’s blue balls! Pansy, have you lost your mind? I can’t just walk up to her and kindly ask her to remove it. You know my history with her. She will hex me into next week." 

Pansy just laughed at Draco’s dramatic antics. "Oh, please, you drama queen. Grow some balls, will you? She is fine. She won’t hex you if you ask kindly like you said you would do." 

Blaise grinned at that. "Yeah, Draco. Balls!" Both of his friends snorted at that and Draco threw his hands in the air while rolling his eyes. 

"Fine. Fine! I will ask her. Kindly! But if she hexes me you both will pay," he exclaimed and strode dramatically to the door.

"And if not you will go with us and the Golden Trio to Hogsmeade next weekend," Pansy smirked as Draco froze in the door. "Pray tell, dear Pansy, why I should do something so insane."

"Because it would be good for your reputation and ⅔ of the Golden Trio are actually fun. Blaise will come with us. I already told Hermione.” Pansy counted on her fingers, while she tried to look intelligently at the ceiling.

"Oh, it’s fine with me," Blaise grinned, taking the last wind out of Draco’s sail.

"Fine," he said. "She will anyway hex me," he groused. He was sure he would be right.

🦉

Draco was on his way to the library. If in search of the frizzy-haired girl it was the first address to take a look. Surely she was buried in tons of books again. But before he could reach his destination, an owl dropped something before his feet and flew away with a hoot.

It was the same owl as last time and Draco’s stomach plummeted. He snatched the parchment from the ground and approached the next alcove that came in sight.

With shaking hands he opened the scroll, his eyes flying over the scribble.

**~ OS Story~**

_"Hey, there." Harry greeted Draco nervously and smiled a little. "Are you ready to go?" he asked and made with his thumb a gesture towards Hogsmeade._

_"Yes," replied Draco briskly and spun on his heel, beginning to walk. He was so nervous that his movements seemed chopped off, like one of those robots the muggles tried to invent. He had heard some Muggleborns talk about it after the summer holidays and watched as they made funny movements around the courtyard at break._

_"Erm…" came Harry’s voice from his left side. "Where do you want to go first?" the Gryffindor asked and smirked amused, watching Draco’s legs. And sure, the sodding question came right after. "Uhm, is something wrong with your legs?"_

_"No, I always walk like this," Draco said flatly and bit his tongue. Merlin, he was an idiot. He didn’t want to be this unfriendly but he was just so nervous that his brain didn’t work right._

_He suddenly jerked and a squeak escaped his mouth. Harry was holding his hand, his brain supplied and his mind was swirling._

_"Uhm, I hope this is alright. You seem kind of nervous.” The Gryffindor smiled at him._

_"And that you hold my hand should work against it?” Draco scowled._

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. His brain supplied again._

_But to Draco's luck, his date only chuckled, "Well, now we can be nervous together.”_

_Harry gave him his goofy smile, which Draco loved so much, effectively shutting him up._

_Upon arriving in Hogsmeade, Draco’s nerves had calmed down a bit and he began to enjoy his outing with the Hero of the Wizarding World._

_First, they went window shopping while talking about Quidditch and Potions. Draco was pleasantly surprised that they had such a good chat. Harry certainly lacked in his knowledge with potions but Draco found it didn’t matter to him, quite the opposite. He found it endearing how Harry listened attentively. And the Gryffindor never let go of his hand._

_His heart soared towards the sky, when Harry, very gentleman-like, pulled him out of the way of a carriage and then even opened the door to Madam Puddifoot's for him. She made the best eclairs in town and always had a new exotic type of tea ready._

_Harry helped him out of his robe and smiled at him when they sat down. Madam Puddifoot, a lovely elderly witch, buzzed over and took their order. Harry took his beloved Tracletart and Draco chose three different kinds of mini eclairs. They combined it with a mango tea, the latest addition to the small café._

_Harry was quiet now and looked around the cafe. His hand was on the table and he absently played with the corner of his napkin. Draco bit his lip and gathered all his courage. Carefully he put his hand on Harry's and waited anxiously and excitedly for his reaction._

_Harry’s beautiful green eyes fixate instantly on Draco’s grey ones and he smiled shyly. His thumb drew soft circles on Draco’s wrist and he grinned when he found Draco’s thundering heartbeat._

_"Still nervous?" Harry asked, looking deep into Draco’s eyes._

_"Yes, still. It’s the first time that I‘m out on a date like this. Are you always so attentive?"_

_"Hm, I don’t know. I‘m just myself." Harry smiled again and Draco was utterly smitten. Then their food and tea came. They enjoyed the surroundings, the delightful food, and each other’s company to the fullest. When it was time to go, Draco‘s heart grew heavy. He wanted to stay longer with Harry in their little bubble._

_They walked silently up the hill towards the castle, only smiling at each other from time to time._

_When they arrived before the big oak doors, they stopped, both sighing heavily._

_"That was a beautiful afternoon," Harry said, looking hopeful at Draco. "Would you want to do that again with me?"_

_Instead of answering, Draco stepped forward and enclosed Harry’s face with his hands. He slowly proceeded, leaning in and kissing his crush dearly on his sweet lips._

_Harry’s mouth was soft and welcoming. They moved their lips slowly together before Draco broke away and laid his forehead against Harry’s._

_"Yes," he breathed and both boys smiled._

**_~ FIN ~_ **

Draco’s frantic heartbeat had calmed down while he read. The story was so cheesy but on the other hand so lovingly soft that a small smile had crept upon his lips. This was nothing like the other story and he was utterly glad about that. Whoever had written it must have been a girl for it was the perfect date for a delicate damsel. For Draco, it was too much, too perfect and he wouldn't be caught dead in Madam Puddifoot's.

Okay, maybe he would be caught in Madam Puddifoot‘s if the exotic teas described in the story were real. Maybe he could check it out at the weekend when they got down to Hogsmeade.

Which brought him back to his actual mission. He still had the nail varnish on his fingers and needed to find Granger to get it removed. He folded the parchment neatly and stuffed it in the pocket of his expensive trousers.

He made a mental note to find out who wrote these stories. He wasn’t some fictional character they could abuse like they wanted to. He was real and if those stories would make the round it would be utterly embarrassing and destructively for him.

🦉

Upon entering the library Draco instantly spotted Granger. He drew in a huge gulp of breath to get his nerves together and walked over to the bushy-haired girl.

"Hello, Granger,” he said and coaxed a small smile to his lips. He had his hand on the back of one of the chairs in question if he was allowed to sit.

"Hello, Mal-Draco,” she said and looked curiously up at him, nodding to the seat.

_‘Okay, the first step is done,’_ Draco thought, noticing the use of his first name in bewilderment, and sat down. His back was ramrod straight and he fiddled with his fingers in front of him.

"Can I help you?” Granger asked, shoving the book she had been reading to the side.

"Yes. Pansy has, for whatever reason, disfigured my immaculate self with nail varnish and I want it gone," he said stiltedly in a haughty tone and winced inwardly. That didn't come out the way he wanted. He needed to remember that she wasn’t the enemy anymore, had never been in fact and that he needed her help. So, he breathed in again and whispered, "Please."

Hermione smirked at him, mirth bleeding into her eyes. She held out her hand. "Show me," she demanded, gesturing at Draco’s hands.

Pansy had told Hermione that she planned to get revenge on Draco for having this sexy mental image of Harry and him seared into her mind and that she would find a way to make him pay. Hermione had mentioned that Draco certainly wasn’t the one who wrote that but the Slytherin girl had only waved her hand. "If you would have been in the first row to Draco’s rants about Potter for the past six years, you would also want to get revenge somehow.”

It had been on the tip of Hermione’s tongue that she knew what Pansy was talking about but decided to only shake her head at her new friend's antics. She never would fully understand how a Slytherin’s mind worked but it was a fascinating thing to see.

Now looking at the haughty boy in front of her, she again wondered why Slytherin’s always worked in a roundabout way. She knew that the blond had changed but it seemed hard for him to let go of the mask he was used to wearing when interacting with strangers.

Hermine looked at Draco’s nails and gasped. "Oh, she did a wonderful job. I like her artistic style,” she beamed and intensely watched as the pattern changed.

Draco huffed in annoyance, "I’m not a girl, so remove it.” He gritted his teeth, "Please.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and then smiled evilly at him. Draco watched her warily. "What?” he asked and tried to snatch his hands away from her grip. The next words out of her mouth send a warm shiver down his back.

"Harry! Look! Pansy did another beautiful artwork,” she exclaimed and looked smiling at the raven-haired boy who had appeared behind Draco.

"Hm? Let’s see it then,” Potter said curiously and reached over Draco’s right shoulder, pulling his hand up to his face. "Wow! That’s some crazy patterns you got there.”

Draco’s heart sprung into his throat. How could Potter so casually touch him as if they were the best of friends? He clenched his jaw and looked up. "Don’t-,” the sentence died on his lips as a hand was thrust before his eyes.

"She did mine, too.” Potter grinned and waggled his dark-blue painted fingers.

"It’s amazing charms work, Hermione,” said Potter and placed himself next to Draco. 

"Thank you,” Hermione said and looked sadly at him. "But Draco wants it removed,” she sighed.

"Granger-,” Draco began but was again interrupted.

"What? Why?” Potter asked, taking his hand again. His thumb caressed over Draco’s fingers while he studied the varnish again. "It would be such a waste. I think it complements your eyes,” he murmured, locking eyes with Draco. Then he jerked, red-faced, and let go. The next moment he sprung up from his seat.

"Erm, I need to … do something. Things… I mean… see you later,” Potter stammered and was gone in a heartbeat.

Draco got out of his befuddlement when he heard Granger’s loud laughter. "Oh my!” she wheezed, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

Then she said, "Maybe I shouldn’t remove it.” Grinning at him, she wiggled her eyebrows and Draco finally closed his open-hanging mouth.

_‘Gryffindors!’_ he thought in bewilderment and thrust his hands to her. "Please, get me out of my misery,” he pleaded and hoped that the blush on his cheekbones wasn’t too obvious.

🦉

Ron hung back between some bookshelves in the library and watched the drama unfold before his bright-blue eyes.

Malfoy approaching Hermione on his own, she holding his hands and talking kindly to him, even though he was an arrogant asshole to her. And then came Harry and Ron just couldn’t take his eyes away. His best friend was absolutely smitten with the slimy git. Even blushed while caressing his fingers.

Ron wanted to wretch. There he left his best friends alone for a few weeks and they managed to get deeply involved with Malfoy of all people. He no longer understood the world. How could they both be so friendly to him? After all, he had said and done in the past, one would think there was no coming back from that. But here, right in front of him, it unfolded to his utter bewilderment.

His friends were too good at heart and he knew that he also needed to come around if he wanted to stay their friend. 

Sometimes he thought he had done enough to prove that he was a good guy, but then his mistakes came back to haunt him and he grew determined to make amends.

With that mindset, he waited until Hermione was done vanishing Malfoy’s nail varnish and the git was gone. It would take some time for him to think in different terms about the guy, but for now, this was fine.

"Hermione?” He said warily as he got closer to his girlfriend. She looked up and the last remains of her smile vanished. "Ronald,” she acknowledged him, drawing her eyebrows together in a scowl.

_‘Urg, that wasn’t a good start,’_ he thought but sat down opposite her, determined to get his apology across.

"I wanted to apologize. I know my behavior was wrong and I vow to improve. Do you forgive me?" He sent her a charming smile and waited on her reaction, feeling like sitting on glowing coals. 

"Oh Ron," Hermione exclaimed and threw herself over the table, hugging her boyfriend tightly. "I’m so glad you came around. So much happened and I was sad that I couldn't talk to you about it."

Ron could only nod since his face was buried in her bushy hair. He inhaled deeply, the scent of old parchment, almond blossom shampoo, and Hermione making him feel at home.

"I missed you, too," he said when he wasn’t in danger of choking on a ball of hair. 

Hermione rounded the table and sat beside him after apologizing to Mrs. Pince, the librarian, who sent a warning glare their way. They cuddled together and Hermione updated Ron what had happened while he was sulking.

🦉


	4. Chapter 4

In the end, Draco didn’t get hexed by Hermione, and thus he had maneuvered himself into going to Hogsmeade with the Golden Trio in three days.

He already felt nervous and absolutely not ready for it. 

His last two encounters with Potter only made matters worse. He was about to come up with a clever excuse, but something was holding him back.

He felt strange. As if he was at the beginning of another big change and he knew deep down, even if he still didn't want to admit it, that Potter was again playing a crucial role in it. Perhaps the weekend brought more clarity to his confused feelings and he should dare to try out new possibilities.

He sauntered along the way down to the lake, to enjoy the last rays of the sun. Soon enough the weather would change and autumn with its rain and storms would change the land around Hogwarts. Maybe he would see the Giant Squid today, he mused as he saw the water glittering in the slowly disappearing light.

From a distance, Draco heard giggling and hushed voices, when a group of young witches came into view. They seemed to have a lot of fun listening to a wizard from Hufflepuff. 

"... my heart almost stopped …," Draco heard the boy say.

"Oh god!" one of the girls exclaimed and buried her red face in her hands while the others giggled like mad or watched the boy in horror.

"Did he read it?" the boy was asked but he shook his head. "No, he just took a look at it, and then Hermione Granger snatched it away. After he had it back he put it in his pocket," he answered. "I bet he was angry," the girl mumbled through her hands. "Or embarrassed," another giggled. 

The boy shrugged, "I don’t know. He said something to Hermione and seemed rather amused." 

The girls squealed at that in delight. Then they began talking about POVs, Drabbles, and Prompts and Draco lost interest because he didn’t know any of those words. It seemed like a muggle thing to him and even if he was more open about that, it was a huge step for him and he would rather try something that he knew at least a little bit about.

That thought brought his mind back to the Hogsmeade weekend. Maybe he could ask Granger about Muggles and their inventions. She had been friendly to him and since he needed a good mark in Muggle Studies, the Ministry had an eye on that, he would profit from it. 

He was still baffled by the interaction with her back at the library. She had teased him willingly and laughed openly, even though he had been a Death Eater and an insufferable git.

Oh, he knew that he had been a bully and a jealous idiot. There was no denying that. But having to live with the Dark Lord and seeing him casually murder people left and right, had driven it out of him thoroughly. 

He didn't remember why he'd ever been jealous of Potter and his friends. If even half of the stories that were told were true, there was absolutely nothing to be jealous of.

Draco had to admit that if it had been him in that situation, he would have buggered off, the Wizarding World be damned.

He sighed, rubbing his temples. All this thinking about the past had given him a headache. He should rather think about the future. Well, that wasn't any better, being a convicted teenager, but it was all that mattered. The past couldn't be changed, but he'd rather be doomed to let someone else determine his future.

What brought his mind back to the Hogsmeade weekend. Again! 

Salazar’s left arse cheek. His mind was running in circles today. But then again, thinking about it was better than running into it blindly. If he wanted to become acquaintances with the Golden Trio to better his reputation, he shouldn’t repeat the mistake he made in first year.

🦉

While Draco was deep in thought down by the lake. Harry was sitting red-faced on his bed. He was certain steam was coming out of his ears. No Pepper-Up potion was needed for that this time. The sodding parchment in his hands was enough for it and a mirthful smirking Hermione who had bullied him into reading the whole thing.

"So Harry, what do you think about it?" she asked innocently. "I like the writing style. It’s really… different from the ones in the library."

Harry averted his eyes from her and the parchment. He never would have thought he would ever think this but sometimes Hermione was an evil bint. Parkinson's definitely had a bad influence on her.

He frantically searched his mind for an intelligent comeback but came out naught. And that Ron was with them in the room, since he never left her side for long after they got on again, Harry really didn’t know what to say. Or even find the words to explain what was going on. Ron’s curious glances between his girlfriend and Harry only added to his speechlessness.

His Gryffindor bravery be damned, he thrust the parchment into his best mate’s hand and gestured with his hand to Ron to go on and read it.

Harry didn’t know where to look as Ron’s face fell and the color drained out of it, leaving his freckles in stark contrast to his ghostly pale skin. He looked ill and flabbergasted as if a bludger had hit his stomach.

Hermione meanwhile tried to hide her sniggering behind her hand, almost choking on her laughter, as she watched her boyfriend lose his wits.

Harry found the situation almost comical if it weren’t for his immense embarrassment. Even if he hadn’t written it himself, he certainly had his opinion on it and it wasn’t an innocent one.

This story and the one before was almost working as a pointer for him. A pointer in a direction he had thought about before. It had been shortly after his breakup with Ginny but he had never acted on it. The reasons for that were simple at the time. 

Firstly, he wasn’t sure that he fancied boys. It had only been a hunch when Charlie had come back to the Burrow for a visit and brought his boyfriend Sergej with him. Seeing the couple interact with each other had felt so deeply right to him, that he, on lonely nights, wished he had someone strong for himself to lean on. This didn’t mean that girls weren’t strong. It was the physical effect that triggered his curiosity.

Secondly, he never before noticed that he looked after boys. Not on the street, not at school, and also not in the Quidditch locker room. 

But lately, precisely since the war ended and no crazy, megalomaniac Dark Lord was after his head, he noticed more things about himself and it came to him like a revelation in the form of these sodding parchments.

Yes, he fancied boys. In more detail, he fancies Malfoy. Between all the fit boys here in school, Malfoy stood out like a sore thumb to him. Harry knew what he was talking about. Since the first story arrived at his window, he had been watching. Looking at all the interesting blokes who crossed his path and no one drew his attention as the blond Slytherin did.

What did that mean for him though? Was he straight, gay or bi? He had tried to analyze his relationship with Ginny and found that he had loved being with her, kissing her and holding her hand. But when he had held Malfoy‘s hand in the library all he had had with Ginny paled in comparison. 

His pulse had been racing, his heart beating a mile in a minute, his stomach a battlefield of butterflies and he couldn’t even begin to explain what it had felt like to have the blond‘s slender fingers buried in his hair when Malfoy had preserved him from splattering his brain over the walls.

But he hadn’t acted on those new feelings, yet. Malfoy was an inexact, a variable to solve. The blonde Slytherin was a mystery to Harry and he was intrigued to find out more about his past archenemy.

Harry was brought back to the present as the parchment sailed nimbly down to the floor. He looked at Ron and found his friend limply leaned back against the backrest of the armchair he had occupied before. His breath was coming in short gasps and his face still pale beside a hint of green around his nose.

"Dude…" Ron managed to croak out but was lost for words, only staring at him with something in his eyes, that didn't sit right with Harry. Disgust.

Hermione must have seen it too since she sobered up instantly and addressed Ron with a menacing glint in her eyes. "Don’t even think about the word, Ronald,” she snarled.

Ron flinched, "I haven’t..."

"Oh, don’t lie to me! It clearly showed on your face,” she hissed. "There is nothing wrong with two boys loving each other!” she exclaimed dangerously, only waiting for her boyfriend to say something stupid.

But Ron surprised her. "I don’t have a problem with gays. If you would remember, one of my brothers has a boyfriend,” he scowled. "I have a problem with Harry and Malfoy being described in it. Who in their right mind would think that these two would be in a relationship?” He asked, scandalized.

"I’m right here, Ron,” Harry said.

But he was ignored for Hermione seemed eager to break an agreement. "What’s wrong with Harry being with Malfoy? If they like each other they have a right to be happy together!” she made her standpoint known.

"Again! I’m right here!” Harry said disgruntled, feeling ignored.

"Hermione! It’s Malfoy!" Ron‘s tone of voice made clear that that was enough explanation.

"He has changed,” Hermine exclaimed and added, "If you would just give him a chance and talk to him you would know that.”

Ron opened his mouth to take the argument further but Harry had enough.

"WILL YOU STOP THIS NOW?! I’m right here, damn it. And if I have feelings for Malfoy it’s no one's business but mine!” he shouted, feeling crazed by his friends' behavior.

Ron spluttered. "You have feelings for Malfoy?” he asked bewildered and leaned forward, eyes as big as dinner plates, his hands gripping the armrests like a lifeline.

Hermione on the other armchair smirked knowingly at Harry and leaned back, satisfied.

With that, Harry knew he had been had.

He groaned, rolling his eyes before falling back on his bed. Ron wheezed like the Hogwarts Express and Hermione asked gleefully, "So you have feelings for him?” while playing innocently with a strand of her bushy hair.

Yep, definitely the bad influence of Parkinson.

Harry sighed heavily. "Urg, Hermine,” he whined. "You should have been in Slytherin.” 

Hermione laughed heartily at that, "Well, I have a new friend who taught me one or two things."

Harry groaned in misery. "You'll never let me live this down, won't you?"

"Nope!" Hermione giggled. "Oh Harry, it's fine that you like him. If we are completely honest, it was just a matter of time, right?"

"What do you mean?" Ron whipped his head to her, startled. 

"I mean that Harry has always been obsessed with Malfoy. Surely it had a different reason these past years. But, do you know the saying? Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. I think after all the hate, it's time for love. And if Malfoy does it for Harry, hell why not? You only live once," Hermione talked herself into a rage.

"Woah, woah! Calm down Hermione," Harry chuckled. "It's really nice of you to defend me, but honestly? I just discovered that I might like him and I'm not sure if I will act on it. Besides, as far as I know, Malfoy is interested in girls, which I'm not. So, currently, there is no need to discuss or defend me."

"But Harry-" Hermione began. 

"No!" Harry said resolutely and added, "I'll talk to you if it comes to it. But until then I want to explore this myself. Alright?"

Hermione nodded solemnly but sent him a proud smile. Ron just starred. He still couldn't wrap his head around  _ 'Harry likes Malfoy' _ , but when Harry clicked his tongue at him, he also gave a curtly nod. If Harry had set his mind on something, it was best not to stand in his way. Even if this something was Malfoy.

🦉


	5. Chapter 5

The small town of Hogsmeade was nestled against the slight slope that marked the way to Hogwarts. The little huts and shops gleamed in the brilliant sunlight of the day, peacefully sitting like a picture on a postcard. Soon enough it would be disturbed by hordes of students which began to pour out of the school gates. Excited voices filled the air for it was the first time that the third years were allowed to go to the town.

Pansy, Blaise, and Draco were waiting for the Gryffindors near the huge front doors of the castle. As always the Golden Trio was late and Draco, already restless with nerves, was about to complain as a huge hand landed on his shoulder.

"Hey Malfoy, fancy seeing you," the ginger-haired boy said and gave the blond a forced smile.

Granger rolled her eyes at the Weasel and apologized for being late, while Potter stood with his hands in his jeans pockets and gave them a lopsided grin.

Draco didn’t know what to say. He was perplexed that the Weasel tried to be friendly and Potter’s smile was ultimately bad for his heart.

Granger was instantly whisked away by Pansy already chattering a mile a minute about Merlin know what, Blaise grinned mischievously at Draco and entangled the freckled Gryffindor in a conversation about Weasley‘s Wizarding Wheezes and suddenly Draco stood alone with Potter and didn’t know what to do.

"Erm, should we go then?" Potter asked and pointed with his chin towards the others.

"Yes," Draco managed to croak out after he cleared his throat.

Draco felt strange walking beside Potter in awkward silence. He wanted to talk to the dark-haired Gryffindor but no topic came to mind.

"So, do you have something to buy in Hogsmeade, or are you just window shopping?" Potter asked, fortunately, glancing at Draco.

"I need new ink and need to go to the Honeydukes. You?" Draco answered, still not feeling in his element.

"Also Honeydukes and then to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer,” Potter said smiling. 

Draco cringed when the Three Broomsticks were mentioned. He had written an honest apology to Madam Rosmerta, but seeing the witch was a completely different story than writing a letter.

"Do you like butterbeer?” Potter asked and Draco nodded absentmindedly. "Good, then I will buy a round for us all,” he replied.

Draco stopped and frowned. "Why would you do this?"

Potter laughed, turned, and said, walking backward, "Because I want to."

This concept was alien to Draco. Why would you want to donate something to classmates you hardly know? But he couldn't ask anymore, because Potter suddenly stumbled on the uneven path and Draco's fairly good seeker reflexes took over.

The next thing he noticed was that he was lying on top of Potter, his hand buried in the Gryffindor's wild hair again to protect the back of his head from injury. His other hand was on Potter's slightly muscled chest and he could feel his rapid heartbeat even through every layer of his clothing. The fragrance of the black-haired boy rose to his nose as his face was pressed into the crook of his neck.

Draco didn't want to raise his head. For one thing, because Potter's scent was simply beguiling, but above all because it was mercilessly embarrassed. Draco knew he had no choice when the boy below stirred and started laughing.

"And again you save me from splitting my head. Seems to be becoming a habit," Potter said smiling.

Draco rose slowly, aware that his face must be as red as a tomato, and instantly was a prisoner to brilliant, laughing green eyes. 

"If you stopped stumbling all the time, I wouldn’t need to save you." Draco scowled, without breaking the eye contact.

"Well, you just blow me away," Potter shot back, grinning and whispered, "I don’t mind you saving me."

Draco breathed in surprise. "You ... That was bad, even for you Potter," Draco smirked, rather concentrating on the stupid pickup line than on what had followed. Potter's voice had taken on a deeper note, and there was a kind of longing in it that made Draco feel dizzy.

The raven-haired boy laughed. "I thought it rather witty under these circumstances."

Draco snorted, "You have much to learn if you find that an appropriate line, no matter the situation."

Harry grinned cheekily, "And you volunteer to give me lessons?"

Draco gasped. "I never said I would volunteer, Potter. You don’t have enough in your vault to pay me for this kind of service." Draco said arrogantly.

Potter looked at him with his hypnotizing eyes and pulled his hand up to Draco’s head. "Do I really need to pay you in Galleons or would something else also do?” he whispered with a scratchy voice and carded his fingers through Draco’s soft hair.

Draco’s mouth gaped open and an electrifying shiver ran through his body. Had Harry bloody Potter just made him an immoral offer?

All of a sudden Potter’s eyes grew wide and his face flushed red in realization. "Oh, uhm that-"

"Harry?" Granger‘s voice came from a short distance.

"Mate?" Weasley asked anxiously.

Harry groaned in dismay which made Draco’s brain short circuit. He should get off him. NOW! But his body felt like a jelly-legs jinx got him, hearing that sound coming out of the raven-haired boy.

"My my, Draco! Did you take your chance and attack Potter?” Blaise asked, laughter clearly present in his voice. "It was about time," Pansy whispered right beside his ear.

Draco jerked back from Potter, brought back from his intoxication, and landed with a yelp ungracefully on his behind.

"I didn’t-"

"We weren’t-"

The boys began at the same time but Granger giggled, "What? Flirting?" Pansy laughed gleefully, "Yeah, right. As if Draco would only flirt when he has Potter finally where he wants him."

"GIRLS!" Weasley admonished and helped his embarrassed friend to his feet. For once Draco thanked the ginger-head inwardly for his loud voice since it made the girls shut up.

"Oh, you will never hear the end of this," promised Blaise as he pulled Draco up off the ground.

Draco’s head was glowing. Through the rushing in his ears, he heard Potter stutter through an explanation to which he had nothing to say. 

"Only you mate!" Weasley exclaimed, shaking his head at his friend and Potter grinned, having the nerve to wink at Draco.

"I think I will go back to the castle," Draco murmured confusedly.

"Oh no, you don’t!” Pansy exclaimed, hooked her arm through his and dragged him unceremoniously down to Hogsmeade.

🦉

The whole way down to town Draco tried to pull himself together again. He was shaken to the core, having something awaken in him that he couldn’t even begin to describe. His friends chatted around him with the Gryffindors but Draco didn’t register what they said. He just tried to avert his eyes from Potter but failed miserably at it. His gaze would, unconscious, find the dark mop of hair in the crowd they had entered and he berated himself inwardly about it.

Potter laughed with Weasley and Blaise over something Granger had said, making her wheel around to Pansy and Draco with an exasperated red face. "Boys! I swear there will be a day where I hex them bald."

"Aww~ Sweetheart, you can come with me and Draco to Esmeralda‘s - Beauty for every Occasion. I heard it’s a new shop and she has a beauty line that I wanted to check out," Pansy said sweetly and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Oh, fine. If there is time later to visit Scrivenshaft's, Bibbleton‘s Uncommon Charms you need to know came out last week and I need a few other things too," she said, whipping a stray lock of her bushy, brown hair behind her ear.

Draco looked at the girls in absolute bewilderment when Granger hooked her arm through his available one and they simply took him along, "Am I considered a girl now?" he asked incredulously, shaking his head at the bizarre situation.

"Yes," they both said in unison, giggling. Draco rolled his eyes but played along. He felt weirdly exhausted but somehow better having those two around him. He looked down at Granger‘s catastrophic hair. "If the shop is well stocked, I just know something that will help you with your hair Granger," Draco said non-mockingly, making her look at him in question. "Uhm, it will make it curl beautifully rather than …," he broke off, noticing that his next words would have been an insult. 

"A rats nest?" Pansy asked. "A frizzy, electrocuted mess?" Granger supplied. "Like a mountain troll ran his fingers through it?" Pansy again. "Urg, not that. My meeting with the one in first year was enough," Granger shuddered.

"Huh?" Draco breathed out, not knowing what to think about this exchange, while Pansy laughed. "You are different Granger," Draco murmured. "Hm, yeah I think a war can change someone," she gave him a small smile. "So, what did you wanted to call my hair?” she asked curiously. "Oh, just a Fwooper’s nest,” Draco said warily. Granger snorted, "That is a rather charming insult. Fwoopers are beautiful birds even though their song causes insanity.”

Pansy groaned in dismay, "See what you’ve done, Draco. You set her into lectures mode.”

"He did not,” Granger groused. "And you can call me Hermione, both of you. It’s nicer that way when becoming friends,” she said as they arrived at Esmeralda’s.

Pansy grinned and Draco shook his head again, this day got more bizarre by the moment.

They got the hair product for Hermione, Pansy bought the whole collection of the new line from France she wanted and Draco got talked out of his usual, straightening product having the two girls reassuring him that he looked better with his slightly curl.

At Scrivenshaft's they meet Blaise and together they walk over to Honeydukes finding Weasley and Potter already up to the ears in Chocolate Frogs and Sugar Quills.

"It would be better if you used a normal quill more often than that one,” Hermione mocked her boyfriend and pinched his side. "Hey! I’m not fat,” the redhead exclaimed hotly. "Hm, you can show me later that you are not,” she winked at him, making him blush an unsightly red that clashed horribly with his orange hair.

Potter choked on a lemon drop while laughing at the shocked look on Weasley’s face and said to Pansy when he had his breath back, "You have a rather astonishing influence on her. I think Ron is grateful to you, even if he doesn’t know it.”

Pansy beamed and Draco’s heart melted a bit more for the Wizarding Hero. Pansy had been frantic at the beginning of the year because of what she tried to do during the war, but Potter seemed unfazed and friendly to her and she relaxed more every week. Surely she got evil looks but since she had been partnered up with Hermione during Charms everything seemed to fall more and more into her favor.

Blaise had been neutral during the war and even if he was friends with Draco, he was well-liked, given his flirtatious attitude even more so by the female population of Hogwarts.

And Draco, well he was still shunned but it got better with time. Maybe Pansy had been right and been seen with the Golden Trio would be good for his reputation. He glanced again at Potter and found him looking right back at him with a lopsided smile and a blush riding high on his cheekbones. It was like falling into a green meadow on a light summer day, staring into those brilliant green eyes. It warmed Draco down to his core. Sadly Potter’s glasses obscured the sight a bit and Draco wondered what they would look like without them. Would Potter’s eyes become smaller or bigger or even more green? If that was even possible.

Draco was so taken with Potter that he didn't notice their friends were watching them. It wasn't until Blaise wrapped his arm around his shoulder that he was able to take his eyes off Potter’s and notice the amused, knowing looks they were being given. Well, three amused and one incredulous. Weasley looked positively ill and Draco blushed to the roots of his hair as Pansy mumbled beside him, "He has lovely eyes, hasn’t he?"

Draco felt like a blushing damsel in distress and he decided then and there that this wouldn’t do. He pulled up his haughty demeanor and smirked at Pansy, "Yes, I know that but how do you know? Have you been checking him out?”

Pansy snorted, "Not as much as you do, Darling.” Draco groaned, he should have known that it would backfire the second the sodding words were out of his mouth. Blaise scoffed, "You are fighting a losing battle here, Draco. It’s clear to everyone who watches you, that you have the hots for Potter.”

"Have not!” Draco said sulkily and threw Blaise’s arm off his shoulder. He stalked over to the sugar quills, grabbed ten packets, and got over to the counter to bill them in, ignoring everyone else.

Behind him, Pansy and Blaise smirked at each other and Hermione winked at them, getting elbowed by her boyfriend for supporting this madness. Potter stared at the displays and pulled embarrassed at his hair. Draco averted his gaze from the mirror where he had witnessed everything. "I‘m ready to go," he grunted out and walked straight to the door.

🦉


	6. Chapter 6

Sitting down in a chair near the window, Harry looked around in the Three Broomsticks. He noticed that Madam Rosmertay glared at Malfoy‘s back before she gave Harry a half-smile. He made out Dean and Seamus who sat behind the stairs who led upstairs, talking eagerly to each other while their heads were bowed over a magazine. A few third years awed over the taste of butterbeer and all in all it was a cozy atmosphere in the taproom.

Hermione sat across from him, Ron sat to her right side, and Pansy on her left. Blaise had snatched a seat at the head of the table after he unceremoniously pushed Malfoy onto the chair next to Harry.

Harry sighed in exasperation at his old and new friend’s antics and snatched one of the menus from the middle of the table. "What does everyone want? The first round goes to me," he said, scanning the food section.

Everyone placed their order, the Slytherins a little more reluctantly than Hermione and Ron when Madam Rosmerta came to the table with her mouth pinched.

Harry sighed again, leaning into Malfoy‘s ear. "Did you apologize to her?" he asked and pointed with his chin towards the owner of the Three Broomsticks. Malfoy nodded with big silvery eyes, "Yes, I wrote her a letter."

"Maybe that wasn’t enough. Something personal would‘ve been better, I guess," Harry mused.

"What are you two whispering about?" Pansy asked curiously, pulling everyone‘s attention to them.

"Ah, Pans let the love birds be. They must have talked about how to best get their alone time without us," Blaise smirked.

Ron gaped at them in shock, pleading Harry with his eyes to tell him that it wasn’t true. Before Harry could open his mouth though, a red-faced Malfoy sprung up from his chair and was out the door faster than anyone could react.

"Uff, that was one tease too much for him," Blaise said, rolling his eyes.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "He‘s just too squeamish," Pansy chided.

"Maybe someone should go after him and apologize," Hermione threw in her two cents sternly. And Ron finally closed his mouth.

"Could you just not?" Harry asked, exasperated with them all. "What is it with you today? Is embarrass-Malfoy-day or something? You obviously know that he isn’t comfortable with that kind of teasing and do it anyway. Tell me why?"

Blaise and Pansy looked at each other and then back to Harry. "Slytherin!" they said in unison and began cackling.

All three Gryffindors rolled their eyes at them, thanking the Sorting Hat for putting them in Gryffindor.

Harry got up. "I will look where he went," he said. The next moment the doors opened again and a breathless Draco Malfoy strode in with the biggest bouquet in his hands Harry had ever seen. Malfoy stopped in front of Madam Rosmerta, bowed, and presented the flowers to her. "I sincerely apologize again for what I did to you. I‘m really sorry and hope you will accept my sincerity," he said in his best manners.

Madam Rosmerta was flabbergasted but accepted the apology by taking the flowers out of Malfoy‘s hands. Harry beamed at him as the blond made his way back to the table. "You think that was enough?" he asked Harry while sitting down again. "Yes, she looks very pleased," he responded as he glanced at Madame Rosmerta who had a slight pink flush to her cheekbones and smelled the flowers with a small smile on her lips. Malfoy nodded thoughtfully, "Maybe I should apologize personally to all people I hurt over the past years."

He suddenly looked up at Ron, making the ginger flinch violently. "Weasley I apologize for calling you poor and making fun of your family. I'm terribly sorry about what happened to your brothers and I know I can never make it up to you, but I hope that one day you can forgive me, not for my sake but for yourself," he said seriously, tensed with nerves. Ron had turned pale when Malfoy had mentioned his brothers, but gave a short nod that he had understood, not accepted, but it was a start. Malfoy then shifted his eyes to Hermione. "Granger, I apologize for calling you the M-word and that I was an insufferable git to you. I can't do well what my aunt did to you, but I hope that one day the mental wounds will heal even if the scar remains." Then he rounded to Harry. "Potter I-," he began but Harry stopped him with a raised hand. "That is quite enough Malfoy. I accept your apology under one condition," Harry said grinning. "Friends and first name basis?" he asked and stretched out his hand for Malfoy to shake. The blond Slytherin looked for a moment puzzled at Harry's hand and a deep longing creped into his silvery eyes. Then he nodded and took it, "Yes, friends... uhm, Harry."

The silence around the table was almost tangible but then both boys broke into a laugh when they witnessed the bewildered looks on their friends' faces. It got so far that even Ron grinned and let out a loud _‘Whoop’_ when their food and drinks arrived, steaming hot and delicious. It could’ve been a nice Saturday afternoon if no one had opened the door and let the sodding owl in.

The scroll bounced off of Harry's head and landed right into Draco’s fish and chips. The blonde Slytherin looked at it in disgust as he fished it out of the vinegar puddle he had accidentally created earlier. "Urg, Bon Appetit," he groused, handing it over to Harry and whipped his hands with the napkin. Harry snorted at the unintentional joke and put the parchment to the side, ignoring it completely.

"Don’t you want to open it, Harry," Pansy asked, slipping naturally into using his first name and pointed to the sodding paper with a greasy chip.

"Nope," Harry said, letting the _‚P‘_ pop and shoved another bite of fish into his mouth.

"Maybe it’s something urgent," Hermione admonished.

Ron snorted, "As if. It’s one of those… uhh~ PG-17 things, right?" He looked at his girlfriend questioning. "Yes, you used the right term for it but we don’t know if it is one of those until we read it," she said, greed bleeding into her expression.

"Oh, don’t worry, I recognize that owl by now," Harry said, pointing to the bloody bird who sat on one of the wooden beams, grooming its feathers.

Draco eyed the owl warily for a moment and then flushed bright red. "What is it?" Blaise asked curiously. "I seem to be the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on."

"You don’t need to know," Draco croaked out, taking a huge gulp of his butterbeer.

Harry’s head whipped around. "You get them, too?" he asked astonished and while his attention was diverted, Hermione snatched the scroll and placed it into Pansy’s waiting hands beneath the table.

While Harry inquisitioned Draco, she unrolled it and began reading. It didn’t take long for her to squeal in delight, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

"This isn’t about Draco and you," she giggled like a five-year-old and winked at Harry.

"Urg, I said to leave it alone," he groaned and threw his napkin beside his plate.

"But this is brilliant," Pansy exclaimed and shot Hermione a mirthful grin. "Well, maybe you should cover your boyfriend's ears for this one, my dear friend," she cackled.

"Huh?" made Ron surprised, allowing Blaise to snatch the paper from Pansy’s red-clawed fingers. He began reading but didn’t get far before his mouth fell open and he gaped at his friends in utter shock. The parchment glided to the middle of the table when it fell from the shivering hands of the dark-skinned Slytherin.

_~ R &B Story ~_

_’Chocolate,‘ Ron thought with dazed eyes as the Gryffindor table filled with the sweetest smells. He licked his lips in anticipation. Milk chocolate, Dark chocolate, White chocolate. He would take it all, pour it over him, and lick it away._

_He chuckled to himself as his eyes roamed over the Slytherin table and found his target. Yes, there he was sitting in all his glory. The embodiment of his sleepless nights. Blaise Zabini. Alone thinking his name made Ron shiver with need. He wanted to lick and kiss every inch of his glorious body, taste the rich, dark skin and put his mark on it._

_Oh, he would make him scream and beg for mercy when he brought him to the edge over and over again._

_He would mark his body. First with chocolate, then with his tongue, then with his mouth, and finally with his teeth._

_Ron's blue eyes twinkled in amusement when Zabini caught his gaze. Slowly the Gryffindor ran his tongue along the spoon that had been in his chocolate pudding and then let it slide slowly and sinfully between his half-opened lips._

_Zabini‘s eyes widened and he averted his gaze, the reddening of his cheeks almost not visible due to his dark complexion. ‘Ah, that velvet looking skin,’ Ron thought and imagined how his tongue would glide over it._

_At the thought, his prick twitched violently in its confinements, already half hard. He groaned inwardly. It took all of him to not go over there and plunge his tongue into the Slytherin’s delectable mouth._

_Ron could exactly pin down when his infatuation with one Blaise Zabini began. It had been after a friendly Quidditch game. They were soaking wet due to a sudden shower of rain and stood cursing in the shared boys-locker-room. That’s when it happened. Ron couldn’t take his eyes away from Zabini’s fit body when the guy had disrobed. More and more skin had been revealed, glistening damp and beautiful in the dim light in the room._

_It had hit Ron like a bludger to the guts. Hot, violent desire had coursed through his body, making him hide in the showers, doing the unthinkable. He wanked. Hell, had he wanked, while all the fellow players were still there. He had muffled his scream of release by biting down hard on his arm as violent spurts of his come splattered against the tiles._

_Ron noticed that thinking back to that significant day in the middle of lunch in the Great Hall hadn’t been a good idea. He was achingly hard, cock throbbing with unfulfilled need and he couldn’t completely stifle a moan as he rubbed his legs together._

_His girlfriend gave him a curious look but he shrugged, hoping it would avert her intention. When it worked, he grinned and took another sensual lick of pudding from his spoon, feeling dark eyes following his every move._

_Oh yes, Zabini had noticed Ron’s advances weeks ago. The boy grew more and more agitated and embarrassed about it, much to Ron’s delight. This little game of endurance and driving his target nuts let him feel dirty and a little bit unfateful towards Hermione, but as long as nothing happened it wasn’t like he cheated on her._

_This fantasy was for his satisfaction and he lived it to its fullest. His dick was constantly raw after a shower, something that first shocked him and then left him wanting more. But he hadn’t acted on it and probably wouldn’t ever._

_While he had pondered on his attraction to Blaise Zabini, lunch had come to an end. Out of a sudden urge, Ron grabbed a few chocolate quills for later and stood gingerly up, pulling his sweater deeper over his obvious bulge._

_Harry grinned at him and waggled his eyebrows. Hermione was luckily almost at the door, so Ron gestured to his best friend that he needed to use the loo and that he would catch up to them later._

_He waggled out of the Great Hall and headed for the nearest toilet. He pulled the door to one of the stalls open and his face collided with the wooden wall when he was suddenly shoved from behind. "What the fuck?" he bellowed as he heard the door close shut behind him._

_"You utter prick," Zabini groused hotly into Ron’s ear as he pressed his fit body against the ginger‘s back. "Do you know that I have a short fuse when it comes to teasing?"_

_Ron snorted, "You call that a short fuse when it’s been weeks already?" He didn’t feel trapped or threatened in the slightest. He was terribly aroused and pressed his arse back against Zabini’s middle section, doing slow-rolling moves with his hips._

_Zabini groaned and balled his hands, which were against the wall beside Ron’s head, into tight fists. "Weasley," Zabini breathed and pressed back, letting Ron feel the hard length of his cock. "You drive me nuts."_

_"That’s the sense of the thing," laughed Ron and moaned when one of Zabini’s hands glided over his chest down to the fastenings of his trousers._

_"Fuck," he breathed as he was spun around and the dark-skinned Slytherin dropped to his knees. "You will curse the day you thought you can play this game better than me," he said, licking his plump lips as he hastily opened Ron’s fly and pulled both trousers and pants down._

_"Oh Merlin and Morgana," Ron groaned out as Zabini licked his aching prick from root to the head in one swift, hot motion._

_"Hmm~," moaned the dark-skinned Slytherin as he sucked the Gryffindors dark-red colored glans into his mouth._

_Ron felt the vibration of the sound right down to his balls and his hands found and grabbed Zabini’s short hair, directing to take more of him._

_He stopped when he hit the back of the hot cavern and made Zabini choke. "Sorry," he whispered and let the guy draw a bit back. His mind blanked as the Slytherin hollowed his cheeks and began to suck him in earnest._

_It didn’t take long for Ron’s balls to pull up tight as Zabini’s tongue danced a wicked rhythm around his cock and his teeth grazed the pulsing vein on the underside._

_Ron cursed like a sailor when Zabini sucked him down his throat. He twisted his long fingers into the tiny, soft locks and locked the Slytherin’s head close to his pelvis as his orgasm ripped with one last grunt through him, coating the guy's tongue with long ribbons of his come._

_Zabini’s throat milked him dry while he swallowed every drop down. Then he pulled back, licking his abused lips. Ron watched him with heavy-lidded eyes, pulled his hand away from Zabini’s head, and swished his thumb over the shiny lip._

_The Slytherin came to his feet and crashed his mouth over Ron‘s, tongue diving deep, letting him taste himself. The Gryffindor moaned into the kiss and gave as good as he could. Too soon Zabini pulled back and a smirk played on his lips. "I expect compensation, Weasley. Don’t run," he said and was gone._

_Ron fell heavily back against the wooden wall, head thrown back, staring at the ceiling. ‘Bloody hell,‘ he thought, still feeling the aftershocks of the best orgasm he ever had._

_While making himself presentable again, Ron heard the crinkling of paper in his pocket. The chocolate quills were still there and Ron grinned mischievously. Zabini would get the compensation he desired._

_~ To be continued ~_

The six people around the table were very still. All movement seemed to have ceased.

"Bloody hell,” Ron breathed with air rushing out of his lungs as he fell back against the backrest of his chair, breaking the spell that seemed to have hit them. His face was ashen and his eyes were so wide that the blue of them seemed to swallow his face.

Zabini’s skin was the exact opposite. His dark complexion showed an even darker blush and his mouth gaped open in shock. "I second that, Weasley. What the bloody fuck is that?” he asked, agitated.

"That my dear Darling is the hottest shit I ever read, even better as the one of those two,” Pansy answered delighted while pointing her thumb between Harry and Draco.

Hermione’s face was buried into the crook of her arm which rested on the table, hair obscuring the violent blush that had befallen her whole shaking body.

Draco had his eyes tightly squeezed shut, a dark blush riding high on his cheekbones, and groaned in dismay, "I think I’ve gone blind.”

Harry huffed a laugh and leaned back, a smirk beginning to play on his lips. "This is somehow fun if I’m not the one starring in it,” he said amused.

"FUN?” Ron suddenly bellowed and sprung up from his chair, making it fall over. "Have you gone around the bend, Harry?” His cheeks colored again and his breath was coming in rushes as he tried to not hyperventilate.

"Calm your knickers, Weasley,” Pansy groused, smirking beatifically. "You can go and hop off a cliff when the second part is out.” She cackled and pointed with one of her long, red nails to the words _‘To be continued’._

Ron whimpered and Zabini explosively began to laugh. "Don’t worry Weasley, your ass is safe,” he reassured, making the ginger-haired Gryffindor choke, but ignored him otherwise. "So that’s what’s going on. Someone is writing stories about you two and now Weasley and me. Hell, I want to meet them. If they’re only half as hot as that story…,” he left the rest of the sentence to everyone’s imagination but the smirk on his lips told the whole story.

Draco groaned again. "Blaise! Can you only think with your cock?” he hissed, shooting daggers at his friend.

Harry squirmed in his seat. Hearing Draco, constantly groan and the word _‘cock’_ coming out of his mouth, did wicked things to his lower regions. "Erm, I think we should go back,” he said, noticing the stares they were getting from the other guests.

When they got up Hermione buried her face in the crook of Pansy’s neck, still refusing to look at anyone, while the Slytherin girl cackled wildly and put the scroll into her robes.

They made their way back in silence. The boys, not knowing how to ship around the erumpent, and Pansy mostly because she helped Hermione’s burrowed form on the way, whispering with her.

🦉


	7. Chapter 7

A few days later a problem made itself known. Hermione couldn’t look at Ron without blushing violently, much to Ron’s misery, and everyone else’s amusement, who knew about the story featuring him and Blaise. Even Draco laughed when Pansy explained what was going down at the Gryffindor table the first time it happened.

He still felt uncomfortable knowing that someone wrote those things about him and Potter but it was like Potter had said, if someone else was in the limelight it was almost funny seeing their reactions. 

Blaise took everything in a stride. He laughed about it when asked by Pansy and curiously eyed every owl in the hope to find the one who had delivered the parchment to find its owner. But so far without a positive outcome.

Pansy had the most fun with it all. She took to dropping ambiguous innuendos or groaning suggestively when Weasley was near them. She couldn't wait to get her hands on the second part of the story.

Weasley was miserable, to a fault. Either he turned red like a tomato, which stung wonderfully with his orange hair, or he sat there scowling and mumbling curses to himself.

And Potter… well, the Golden Boy joked and smiled like he normally did but something seemed off about him. Draco felt him staring much more nowadays, almost like in their sixth year and it made Draco squirmy and sought out his gaze with questioning eyes. But he got no answers, instead, Potter graced him with his slightly crooked smile, which Draco found more and more endearing, making something in Draco’s chest flutter and his cheeks blush.

The still-fragile friendship that was building between the six of them persisted with lots of teasing, banter, and laughter and Draco wondered how it was after everything that had happened between them that it came so light and without malice.

He was pleasantly surprised that he found in Hermione of all people someone who could proceed and share his fascination with ancient runes. They got on like a house on fire, given that she was as well educated in other subjects like him.

They were currently jostled up in the library writing frantically on their parchments. Hermione sighed exasperated and swished a stray strand of her fussy hair out of her face. "Done,” she breathed relieved, and smirked at the pile of paper to her left. 

Draco looked up and quirked one of his elegant eyebrows. "Are you done with the Herbology essay for Professor Sprout?” he asked going back to his own Transfiguration homework.

"Yes, Neville was a black pit of information on that,” Hermione grinned and closed her book.

"Longbottom? Does he want to take over Herbology later on?” Draco asked, taking the tip of his tongue between his lips in concentration as he wrote out the last sentence of his essay.

"Hm, I don’t know. I think I heard him talking about traveling after school before he decides what to do as a profession.” She packed her books and papers away, and while waiting on Draco to finish she scrutinized him with a curious expression. "What do you want to do after school?” she asked.

Draco finished with a flourish and snorted while he tapped his wand against the parchment to dry the ink. "I don’t have many options,” he answered while rolling the paper tightly together and stashed it in his black messenger bag.

Hermione shot him a thoughtful look, "Well, you’re good at potions. Don’t you want to take the master course in it?”

"Well, yes. But that doesn’t mean I will have somewhere to work afterward,” he said, furring his brows. "No one wants someone with a Dark Mark working for them,” he muttered.

"What about teaching?” Hermione inquisitioned.

Draco laughed mirthlessly. "Granger, who in their right mind would let me near their children?”

"I would,” she quipped, smiling at him.

Baffled, Draco looked up from his packing and didn’t know how to react. He couldn’t fathom why she was so trusting towards him after he had called her _‘Mudblood’_ , bullied her in every way possible and his aunt had tortured her.

He closed his gaping mouth with a click and the crease between his eyebrows intensified as he saw her smile falter.

"Look Draco… can I call you by your first name?” She asked uncertainty but continued when he nodded in bewilderment, "I want to let the past go. I haven’t forgotten what you did to me or my best friends. I guess I will never really forget it, but I don’t want to live my life hating someone who despite it all saved Harry in a most critical moment and tried to protect his own family. And I see that you try to change and make amends for what you did.” She raised an eyebrow when Draco shook his head and looked down at the worn-out wood of the table. 

"I know that you helped a bunch of third years last week with their potions homework. They wouldn’t let you at first but you tried anyway even if it was a bit-" she chuckled, "like the old you, with your snarky comments on their intelligence when they wrote down the wrong ingredients for a calming draught. You told them in a roundabout way what they did wrong and even if they wouldn’t immediately write it down, I saw them second-guessing themselves and looking up what you told them, and then correcting their answers. Professor Slughorn was well pleased or so I heard after their lesson the next day. What you did reminded me of Professor Snape and I was impressed to see you in that manner and them glancing at you with admiration.” She sighed heavily, "I’m still working on it, so don’t expect wonders from me. But I like the conversations we have and I guess it’s fine to let go of the past animosity we shared.”

Draco looked uncertainly at her when she finished, contemplating how to react to such an open offer of peace. He felt out of his waters and decided to go with his usual snark when he replied, "Have you practiced this speech or does something like that come to you freely?" 

Hermione‘s eyebrows shot up into her fringe and she already had a prickly comeback on her down-drawn lips as she noticed the almost hidden upward turn of Draco’s lip corner. "I practice speeches like that every day or how do you think I get those two thickheads to do their homework?" she said with an amused smirk on her lips.

A guffaw escaped Draco’s mouth at that and he clapped a hand in horror over it. Malfoys didn't guffaw. But he couldn’t hold the snicker in when Hermione waggled telling her brows at him.

"Do I have to sign this peace offer anywhere?" he asked arrogantly after he had calmed down. 

"No, Draco. Just do what you've been doing so far. I think that's enough for me," Hermione replied and shook her head in amusement at his antics while getting up from her chair.

"Granger-," Draco called after her, also getting up.

"Hermione," she corrected, waiting for him.

"Uh, ah yes," he said befuddled. Another thing Malfoys didn't do. Then he tried to sound concerned instead of curious, "Are you and Weasley alright?"

Hermione suddenly groaned and got fifty shades of red while burying her face into her hands. “What did Pansy tell you?" she mumbled through her fingers, shooting him an appraising gaze.

“Not much," Draco shrugged and breathed deeply. "Only that you can’t get the image of Weasley with Blaise out of your head,” he smirked with a gleeful glint in his silver eyes.

Hermione let out an embarrassed shriek and hit Draco against his shoulder.

“Don’t you dare tell him or Harry. Gods!” she groaned miserably while Draco chuckled.

He thought to himself that he could do this friendship thing the Gryffindors had offered.

🦉

"Parkinson, if you moan one more time into my ear I’ll skin you alive,” Ron growled and huffed as he stemmed a huge flower pot on the table in front of them. "Aww~ is Ronniekins embarrassed?” Pansy chuckled and flicked a pebble of dirt in his direction.

Going red-faced, Ron shot her a glare. "Who told you that nickname?”

“Hermione,” Pansy quipped happily.

“Merlin, give me strength,” the ginger muttered and set his piercing glare on his girlfriend who was currently working with Nott on the assignment Professor Sprout had given them.

Greenhouse four, they were currently in, was a tropical hell. The humidity was so thick that even the glass which separated the colorful plants from the outside world seemed to sweat. Most students had upon arriving thrown off their robes and jumpers and groaned as Professor Sprout presented them with Solem Inflamaris that they had to replant. The sodding plant with its dark green leaves sprouted small yellow glowing balls of sun fire as fruits, they were inedible, but when put in certain potions could warm up the body for hours on end. The heat they released in small puffs once in a while wasn’t harmful, only when one of the baubles would burst open it could leave huge damage because the little flames would grow like wildfire.

Neville seemed to be the only one who was completely enthusiastic about the rare plants. At the moment he was talking to Zabini like a machine gun while he made a large hollow in the soil of their pot.

"Remember to put on your dragonhide gloves when you touch the plants. We don't want to risk burns," said Professor Sprout warningly as she waddled down the aisle. Her little pointed patchwork-hat wiggled merrily back and forth on her gray ringlets.

Meanwhile, Zabini grinned wildly at the red-faced Neville who had caught a stain of dirt on his nose when he ran his earth-smeared hands over his heated face.

"Tell me, is Zabini into boys or girls?" Ron asked Pansy casually, mixing dragon manure under the earth. "Hm?" made Pansy absently, having just checked her book for Advanced Herbology. But now she looked up and her gaze slid from Zabini to Neville and a shrewd expression came into her eyes. "Oh, are you jealous, Weasley?" she giggled and thrust her elbow into Ron's ribs.

"What? No! Merlin! Why did I have to ask?" exclaimed Ron, pulling his head between his shoulders.

Pansy giggled in amusement, "Don't be ashamed, Ronnykins, Blaise is sexy, even you have to admit that and he likes both, even if redheads aren't one of them."

"So he's ... what's that called again?" Ron asked, relatively fascinated by the subject. Since Harry had let out that he might have feelings or something for Malfoy, Ron had been thinking more and more about the subject.

"He's bi-sexual, Weasley. Don't you know anything?" Pansy sighed and handed him his gloves as he reached out for them. "And you are clearly straight and so is Hermione. What is Potter?" she asked innocently and pushed a damp strand of hair behind her ear. She had noticed the looks Potter threw at Draco and they weren't the ones he usually got from the Golden Boy. Something had changed since they first became friends with the Gryffindors and Pansy wondered if there could come more for them.

"I think that's Harry's business," replied Ron, gesturing to her to help him plant the two-meter monstrosity of a plant.

Pansy smirked, while she held the plant at its bottom and Weasley carefully gripped it at its stem. "Do you think Potter has the hots for Draco?" she asked straight out, making Ron almost fall backward when he stumbled over his own feet. 

"Merlin, woman! Would you stop bringing me out of the concept? It's dangerous," he shouted and drew Professor Sprout's attention to them. "Be careful!" she exclaimed and pointed her wand at one of the baubles which had come loose of one of the corolla leaves. "Glacius," she shouted, and the small ball of fire froze in mid-air before it splintered into a thousand ice crystals on the ground. 

"That was close," she groused and glared at them, then puffed her chubby cheeks and huffed angrily, "Five points from Gryffindor and Slytherin, for carelessness." 

Ron groaned in dismay and Pansy let her shoulders hang in defeat. Three rows back, Harry chuckled at the odd pair and shook his head.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and pushed his unruly black hair back out of his eyes. It was even wilder today with all the moisture in the air. Draco beside him was also drenched in sweat, his white long-sleeved button-down clung to his lean body and small translucent droplets ran down his neck into his collar. Harry in his red t-shirt felt hot just looking at him, although that had less to do with the heat in the room, as he incredulously had to admit to himself.

The blonde Slytherin had an increasingly beguiling effect on Harry's emotional life and he wasn't exactly sure what to think of it.

"Aren't you hot?" he asked panting when he heaved the heavy sack of earth on the table.

Draco smirked at him. "Why, thank you, Potter. I hadn't known you noticed," he teased, his smirk deepening when Harry blushed. "Shut up, Malfoy!" He groused and crouched down to get his dragonhide gloves out of his rucksack.

Draco snorted, "You haven't really developed linguistically since our first year at school. Shall I tutor you?" he asked teasingly.

"Ha! That I can then speak stilted like you? I don't think so," Harry said solemnly. He wasn't sure why they bickered again, but it was kind of fun without the usual malice behind the words.

"Why, Potter? My pronunciation is not stilted, but aristocratic. It would do you good to learn with all the speeches you have to give."

Harry rolled his eyes at him. "I hate giving speeches. That is one of the most terrible things right after people staring at me all the time."

"I thought you liked being famous," Draco asked surprisedly and dabbed his face with a handkerchief.

"As if. I hate being famous, now even more than before," Harry answered and bit his lower lip. He really needed to stop looking at Draco or he would certainly do something stupid, like pulling one of the loosely hanging sweaty, slightly wavy, strands of blond hair behind Draco's ear. His fingers itched to just do it, to get a feel of the soft-looking silvery strands. But he pried his attention back to the pot to fill in the earth. 

Draco wrinkled his nose at the dragon dung and dumped it unceremoniously into the voluminous pot. "Your job, Potter. Knead away."

Harry snorted, "It's not cookie dough, you git," but began to mix the dung with the earth. 

"Eww, that was an image I didn't need in my life. Thank you, Potter... for nothing," Draco growled and made a disgusted face.

"You seem to have a vivid imagination. Do you also use it in other areas?" Harry chuckled and wiped his hands with a cloth.

"You'd like to know that, wouldn't you?" Draco asked, amused. "What’s with your ambiguity today? Are you really that inarticulate or is it my lucky day?"

Harry spluttered, going red again, "You're the one who misinterprets my words in that direction. So who's got a dirty mind here?"

"I do that? Isn't it rather you who does that intentionally?" Draco quirked one of his aristocratic eyebrows incredulously at him and huffed a small laugh. "Did those little stories that were sent to us gone to your head? Sexually frustrated, what, Potter?"

Harry groaned, feeling awkward. Draco and his loose mouth would one day be his death, he was sure of that. How the Slytherin could talk about sex so casually was beyond him. He himself always felt somehow cornered and uncomfortable when the subject came up. Especially just thinking about Draco Malfoy and sex in one sentence made Harry feel unexpectedly warm in his lower regions. And since reading those sodding stories, it was more often than not that a certain blond Slytherin was the main actor in his thoughts.

Harry averted his eyes from the taller boy and suddenly became very interested in the Solem Inflamare. "Will you help me plant it?" he asked, trying to distract from the original topic.

"No, Potter, I'm just standing here to overshadow you with my beauty and grace," joked Draco, pulling his gloves over the long fingers of his left hand. He had hands made for playing the piano and Harry immediately wondered if Draco had learned the instrument, but he didn't dare open his mouth again. He didn't need to step into another innuendo trap.

But his mind certainly began to wander, wondering how those nimble fingers would feel on his skin. Dipping low into the valleys of his body, mapping out every corner, flicking over the sensitive patches which could be ticklish or arousing. 

"Potter-... Potter-... Harry!" 

Harry snapped back to reality, face red hot, and gazed up at Draco who looked at him worriedly. "Where have you just been?" he asked softly. "I called you several times. You may want to put on gloves before you approach the plant. Look, your hand already got blisters. "With that, Draco loosened Harry's hand, which was wrapped much too tightly around the stem of the plant, and carefully stroked the small blisters that had formed on Harry's skin with a fingertip that was not yet gloved. Draco mumbled a cooling charm and Harry shuddered at the soft feeling of Draco's skin against his own. "Sorry, I know it's cold but it will help against the blisters."

Harry just stared at him, mouth slightly open. Draco was so near that Harry could count every single one of his pale lashes. His expressive eyes half-hidden by them looked silvery as he lifted Harry's hand to his mouth and lightly blew over the blisters.

Harry gulped audibly as Draco's minty breath washed over his heated face. Unconsciously he leaned closer to get more of Draco's intoxicating smell of Orange blossoms, mint, and honey. 

"Mr. Potter, did we have an accident?" Professor Sprout asked beside him, eyeing his hand. She held a small pot with healing salve in her hand and gave Draco an approving look. "Well, as I see, Mr. Malfoy has already done the cooling spell. When you are done holding hands, put that salve on, and continue repotting. The lesson is almost over." She nodded to Harry, who snatched his hand back from Draco at her words, and pressed the little crucible into his uninjured hand.

Draco's cheeks had pinked and he looked rather elsewhere than at Harry. He seemed shaken up by his own doing and swiftly pulled on his other glove. Harry bit his lip. He felt partly embarrassed but another part of him had deeply enjoyed Draco's attention. He smeared the tincture on his blisters and put his dragonhide gloves on.

"Time to get this done," he said and bestowed a smile at Draco.

🦉

"Would someone care to explain to me what that was?" Ron asked Parkinson as they exited the greenhouse with Neville and Zabini.

"What was that supposed to have been? The two have the hots for each other, that's obvious," Pansy exclaimed superior, throwing her hands in the air. "Not even you can be that thick in the head, Weasley."

"Oi, watch it, Parkinson. It's just weird that's all," Ron groused and trudged annoyed up to the castle.

"Do you have a problem with it?" Zabini asked, holding his long strides with ease. 

"Not directly, no. It's just... they were agonizing each other for years and now it could be a romance novel my mother loves to read." Ron sighed and shoved his hands into his robe pockets. 

"I know what you mean," perked Neville up beside Zabini. "It certainly is weird, but... well, I don't know, if Harry develops feelings for Malfoy it's not our call to make. I think he deserves happiness in whichever way it comes to him."

Ron groaned, "Neville you spend too much time with Luna."

Neville blushed, "Well, she is awesome and a friend you can count on."

"Only a friend, Nev?" Zabini asked curiously, pulling Neville closer by slinging his arm around the Gryffindors shoulder.

Neville nodded, going red but didn't break free from the Slytherins grasp. Behind them, they heard the girls giggle. The subject was without a doubt their two best friends making beautiful eyes at each other.

"Can you believe them? That wasn't deliberately from Draco, he just did it naturally. I have never seen him quite like this and I dated him shortly in fourth year, mind you," Pansy exclaimed, smitten with her boy.

"I have to agree. When Harry dated Ginny it never felt so natural as the flirting they just did. But most shocking for me is still that they didn't seem to notice that they were doing it," Hermione replied perplexed. "Like when we found them on the way to Hogsmeade, they didn't seem uncomfortable in this obviously compromising position until we showed up. It rather seemed like they enjoyed it immensely."

“Yes, that was something. They seem perfectly fine being in each other's company but then they start to bicker like an old married couple again. I thought that they finally reached the first name basis when we were in Hogsmeade but they started that Potter/Malfoy shit all over again. Though the name-calling and the insults have considerably lessened. What the hell is wrong with them?” Pansy exclaimed, wildly waving her hands about.

Hermione shook her bushy head, "Boys," she muttered and grinned at the Slytherin girl. "You can't believe them sometimes," Pansy nodded in agreement. 

"What can you sometimes not believe?" Harry asked beside Pansy, making her squeal and almost slip on the autumn leaves which had fallen on the path. "Careful," Draco admonished as he caught her from behind and righted her to a safe stand. "Salazar, Potter! Don't frighten me like that," Pansy exclaimed, brushing down her robes to even out the wrinkles Draco's hands had left.

"Sorry, about that," Harry said remorsefully. "Did you talk about Herbology?" 

"In a way," Hermione smiled sheepishly, glancing at Draco whose face was a single question mark. "Ehem," Hermione cleared her throat, "is your hand alright, Harry?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, thanks to Draco," he smiled at the blond and held his injured hand up to Hermione's warm brown eyes for inspection. 

Pansy who was somehow in the middle of it all, rolled annoyed her eyes and swatted Harry's arm down. "You will live, Potter. Once again." Her snarky exclamation was met with a swat to the back of her head from Draco. "Behave!" he growled with a warning gleam in his eyes. She glared and hissed at him for that but her curiosity won over. "What I want to know is, why the hell do you both switch from first to second name all the time?"

Harry looked slightly annoyed at Pansy at the stupid comment but then decided not to start an argument. He was tired of arguing, except when he bickered with Draco, which was a lot of fun. This was partly because the usual cutting edge was missing and partly because it was Draco. They didn't really seem to know any other communication than teasing each other.

"Uhm, I have no idea, maybe because it is still weird to address each other by first name, even if it was my suggestion." Harry shrugged.

"No, it's because it doesn't feel right to snipe at you and use your first name," Draco commented and sneered at him.

Harry laughed lightly, "Yeah, that too."

"Boys," Hermione muttered again, rolling her eyes.

🦉


End file.
